MARGARET GINTER

After an amazingly long and fulfilling life, Margaret Ginter passed away at Seven Oaks Hospital on April 1, 2022 just two months shy of her 103rd birthday. Margaret will be lovingly remembered and forever missed by her children, Dennis (Chris), Walter (Denise), Lorna, Gerald (Edith), and Robert (Sylvia); and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

Margaret had a brush with death in the mid 1950's when she was hospitalized for internal bleeding. Who would have believed then that she'd live another 70 years?!

Margaret lived such a strong independent life. She was truly an extraordinary and resilient woman, and was able to make her own decisions right up to the very end.

It was said resiliency which had allowed her to overcome much adversity during her long life, however it was her injuries sustained in a fall two weeks prior to her passing which lead to her final battle.

Margaret was born in 1919 during the waning years of the Spanish Flu pandemic and now, she has left us in much the same manner at the last of the present COVID Pandemic in 2022...she was a true survivor.

Her life began in the small Mennonite communities of Altona, Plum Coulee and Horndean in Southern Manitoba. Margaret's journey of endurance began before she was born with the loss of her father...(her mother would lose two of her husbands during the Spanish Flu Pandemic).

Married in 1938 to David Ginter, she and Dad spent the war years raising their three oldest children in rural Manitoba and moved to Winnipeg in 1951 to better provide for the family...two more children would be added following the move to the big city. The family spent time in several homes and areas throughout Winnipeg as the children grew. Even in the leanest of times, Mom provided for and nurtured her brood with a positivity that we so much appreciate in our older years.

Our mother always tried to instill a sense of pride in us as we grew up , which at times could be difficult due to the origins of her own strict upbringing. Margaret had the courage to stand on her own in the early 1970s and do what was not easy for herself, but was for the good of her family. She stepped out on her own as a single mother (a novel occurrence during the early 1970s), finding the inner strength to seek and secure employment and make calculated decisions that were successful. 

Margaret forged ahead with a career for herself as a homecare worker for the Victorian Order of Nurses, while supporting Gerry and Bob as a single parent. She later secured a position with a wonderful family, providing them homemaking and childcare for many years.

She joined and eventually co-chaired and held executive positions with the Winnipeg Division of Parents Without Partners support group in the early 1970s.

She saw that stable housing would be important and she secured a newly-built home for herself and her youngest son in a community provided by the Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation (MHRC). Her association with this group would continue for years. Another opportunity arose when she and other tenants of MHRC were offered the opportunity to be involved in the concept/design and construction of a new housing development. Margaret's previous skills in managing meetings and coordinating projects became evident. Margaret and 26 other participants were soon living in a new townhouse complex with individual homes designed by themselves.

Family was very important to her and Margaret was very proud of her family. Mom's attempts to remain impartial in her children's lives (but, having a wee bit of an opinion anyway) would be foremost in our thoughts. At times she saw us make decisions which she knew would make our lives more difficult. She never tried to live our lives for us, choosing instead to quietly support us and to be there when we asked her advice or to just simply listen.

Meals with the family, especially over a holiday, were always a special time she looked so forward to. Margaret loved phone calls and visits from her large extended family. Trips to England to see Dennis and to British Columbia to see Lorna and their families were amongst Margaret’s most cherished memories.

At the age of 65 she moved into Lions Place where she lived up until her death. She was involved in committees and special events there as well. She met some very special people at Lions Place including her beloved partner for several years, Frank. Always one to enjoy a good party, Margaret dressed up for many theme parties at Lions Place often by way of some funny hat or costume she adorned herself. It was on the second floor at Lions Place that she discovered she enjoyed playing pool (billiards). She shocked many family members when she requested a pool cue stick for her 75th birthday present.

Margaret was very skilled with her knitting needles and crochet hooks. We will forever cherish the warmth and comfort of the many sweaters and throws she made for us.

Margaret had a deep love and passion for outdoor and indoor plants & flowers. Her care and seemingly magical touch saved countless plants over the years from an early demise. Walks and car drives past anywhere with a riot of colour provided from flowers were amongst her very favourite pastimes. Relaxing at Assiniboine Park was one of her very favourite places as was the back garden at Lions Place.

Margaret’s modest education never held back her extremely inquisitive nature.... her love of reading books, magazines and the daily paper, watching the news, etc. enabled her to be mistaken as a retired school teacher on several occasions 

The Ginter Family would like to give a big thank you to Mike Maunder for the documentary he created in honour of Margaret’s 100th birthday, which you are welcome to watch. Click here to watch.

There are too many instances to convey about how her perception enabled her to cope in times of adversity... raising her children in a warm, positive and loving environment with limited resources, divorce, her many contributions to her community, her longevity...all these and so much more, made her a quiet, yet formidable force in our lives. And for that we all owe her a debt of gratitude. 

The family wishes to offer many thanks to the following for their kindness and care they provided to Margaret over the years: Dr. Wayne Poon, her Home Care workers and the loyal staff at Lions Place. A heartfelt thank you to the staff at Seven Oaks Hospital for making the last two weeks of Margaret’s life as pain-free and comfortable as possible.

Should you wish to do so, donations in memory of Margaret can be made to any charitable organization of your choice.

Excerpts from: A Woman of Valor

Proverbs 31:10–31

A woman of valor, who can find?

Far beyond pearls is her value. 

She seeks out wool and linen,

and her hands work willingly.

She is like a merchant’s ships;

from afar she brings her sustenance.

She rises while it is still nighttime, and gives food to her household and a ration to her maids. 

She considers a field and buys it;

from the fruit of her handiwork she plants a vineyard. 

She girds her loins with might

and strengthens her arms. 

She senses that her enterprise is good,

so her lamp is not extinguished at night. 

She spreads out her palm to the poor

and extends her hands to the destitute. 

She fears not snow for her household,

for her entire household is clothed with scarlet wool. 

Bedspreads she makes herself;

linen and purple wool are her clothing.

Strength and splendor are her clothing,

and smilingly she awaits her last day. 

She opens her mouth with Wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 

She anticipates the needs of her household,

and the bread of idleness, she does not eat. 

Her children rise and celebrate her;

Give her the fruit of her hands, and she will be praised at the gates by her very own deeds.—

Cremation has taken place and a graveside service will be held at a later date at St. Vital Cemetery. In the meantime, Margaret's family kindly requests that all of her friends and relatives take a few minutes to honour her memory by watching the photo-biography above. Please, also consider sharing your own photos, memories, and stories by making use of the comment section on this page.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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