Terese M. Aitchison

Each of us should be so lucky to have a friend whose laugh cannot help but bring a smile. Marcey was just such a friend. She had a song in her voice and a light in her smile that drew people to her, with many of whom she made powerful bonds. Marcey grew up in sunny Tsawwassen and, in turn, raised her own family there. Along with her adoring husband, Raymond, she spent countless days supporting her children, Euan and Kathleen, as they honed their soccer skills in the pouring West Coast rain. But it was Marcey's character and integrity that were her most powerful influences on her children. So, too, was her boundless ability to appreciate every day as a gift (seasoned with a daredevil spirit). Last year, she and Raymond found a new home near the beach at Boundary Bay. There, Marcey would be able to indulge in her favourite pastimes: enjoying music and a fire on the beach with a glass or two of wine and watching the sun set. Sadly and unfairly, she was fated to endure a 15-year illness that brought times of terrible pain and, ultimately, her untimely death. Throughout it all, however, she exemplified bravery: she never shed a tear in her agony, and she seldom revealed the real fear she felt. And even in her last days, she never failed to smile, and blow kisses, and hold her family and friends close. Now she can rest, and join her many dogs that have gone before and who miss her taking them down to the beach. Each of us would do well to follow her example: take some music and a bottle of Road 13 to the ocean, watch the sun set, and smile. For, to paraphrase David Harkins, we can shed tears that Marcey is gone, or we can smile because she has lived...
Her funeral will be celebrated on 6 June, 10 am at Sacred Heart parish church, 3900 Arthur Drive. In lieu of flowers, you are invited to donate to the Irene Thomas Hospice.