Margaret Ann Griffiths

GRIFFITHS, Margaret Ann "Nan" Nan Griffiths died peacefully of complications from dementia on January 12, 2018 at her home in Ottawa surrounded by loved ones at the age of 85. Nan's family roots reach directly back to the founder of Hull, Philemon Wright. As a girl she was an excellent athlete and one of the first women to brave the high ski jump at Camp Fortune. This intrepid spirit informed her entire life. She pursued her passion for art at the Chelsea School of Art in London, tried her hand at Lepidoptary, mapmaking and was the accountant at the Canadian Embassy in Copenhagen before attending London's Regent Street Polytechnic school of architecture. She graduated in 1965 while carrying her first baby, Eliza. After some heady years working in swinging London, the family moved back to Ottawa, where she worked as an architect and became head of Design Services of the newly formed Urban Design Branch of Public Works Canada. By poetic invitation, she then joined the faculty of Carleton University's School of Architecture, where she taught for 22 years. She was the sole female faculty member for many of those years, providing a rare and sorely needed feminist model and inspiration. In the mid-70s, Nan was invited by the National Capital Commission to co-ordinate the first national conference on Women in the Urban Environment. As a passionate advocate for art and urban design, she served on many Canada Council juries, participated in conferences, international and regional urban and architectural charettes, collaborated on diverse design competitions, and wrote influential essays and articles on urban space. In 1993 Nan co-directed a group of students to design and build a Canadian D-Day war memorial in Caen, Normandy. Nan was passionately involved in her community on many levels. She was a founding member of the Centretown Citizens Community Association, and served on the City of Ottawa Planning Committee, Heritage Committee, LACAC, the Public Art Committee and the Cultural Leadership Committee. She was Executive Director of the Board of the Ottawa Art Gallery and a member of the City of Ottawa Arts and Heritage Advisory Committee. Nan was elected a Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada in 2004. Upon retiring, she revived her early interest in visual art. She was an excellent pastoralist and her life drawings with watercolour accents were outstanding. She leaves a strong body of work and a large collection of sketchbooks and slides, which form a wonderful visual legacy of her tremendous talent. Nan was a strong, stylish, warm and infectiously enthusiastic woman of her times. She will be deeply missed by her beloved husband, Tony, adoring daughters, Eliza and Anna, her extended family, and the many students, colleagues and friends who loved and admired her. Our heartfelt thanks to the caregivers who helped make it possible for Nan to stay at home with Tony among her beautiful artwork and all the things she cherished to the very end. A celebration of Nan's life and reception will start at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 31, 2018, at Hulse Playfair and McGarry funeral home at 315 Mcleod Street, Ottawa, Ontario K2P 1A2. There will also be a visitation with the family from 3 to 6 p.m. on March 30, 2018 at the same location. A new 'Nan Griffiths' seminar room is planned for Carelton University School of Architecture to house Nan's architectural library and slides. A scholarship in Nan's name is being established at Carleton U School of Architecture. Donation details will be forthcoming. Condolences/Tributes/Donations Hulse, Playfair & McGarry www.hpmcgarry.ca 613-233-1143