Marion (Marnie) Alison Wright
(Weatherby, Bond)
May 6, 1935 - December 22, 2024
It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Marnie Wright on the afternoon of December 22, 2024. She died peacefully in her sleep, with her family by her side. She was a wonderful, loving mom and grandma, and memories of her will be forever cherished by her daughters Janet Marshall (Richard), Patricia Weatherby, and Cathy Tysz (Rob), as well as her grandchildren Ben (Lise), Ian, Steve (Morgan), Tara (Sean), Kevin, Candice (Kim), Jaqueline, her 11 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild. Also left to mourn is her sister Laurie, as well as many nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. She will be greatly missed.
She was predeceased by her son, Roland M Weatherby, her parents Norman and Margaret, and her siblings Don, Noreen, Val, Bev, Bob and Sammy.
Mom was born on May 6, 1935 in Neepawa, Manitoba. Most of her childhood years were spent in Winnipeg’s West End, where she attended Isaac Brock School and Daniel McIntyre Collegiate. When she finished school, she worked as a telephone operator on the old switchboards. Her family moved to MacGregor when she was a teen, and that’s where she met our dad, Red Weatherby. They married in May of 1955, and had 4 children together. In their early years together, they lived in Churchill while dad was stationed there, but mostly they lived in Winnipeg, first in the North End and then in North Kildonan. They divorced in 1977.
Mom was content to be a stay-at-home mom because that was what she most loved to do. When we were all in our teens, she took a course in secretary work so she could start working again. She started at Rexall, and then worked at Del’s Electric for a number of years until she got a position as a medical secretary at the Women’s Pavilion at HSC, where she stayed until her retirement. She enjoyed that job the most because she loved working with the moms and babies.
Mom is most often remembered for how amazing she was with babies and young children. She loved being surrounded by them. Besides raising her own 4 children, she was a foster mom to 30 babies over a period of 8 years, starting when her own children were still very young. There were always at least 2 foster babies in the house, and sometimes 3. And always little babies, usually under a year, and often only a few weeks old. She loved taking care of them, and she had an incredible amount of patience. Even at church, she ran the nursery instead of going to the services. If the term existed then, she would have been known as the “baby whisperer”.
It was no surprise then, to read what she had written in a memory book - that as a girl, her ambition was to get married and have her own children. She also wrote that she loved dancing, and remembered her dad taking her to the Winnipeg Beach dance pavilion by train for Saturday night dances. This was another passion that remained throughout her life. She always loved to dance. It was at a singles dance that she met her second husband, John Bond, who she married in 1979. They divorced 10 years later, and it was then that she discovered her own strength and independence, and she remained happily single for the rest of her life.
Mom was born a caregiver, always thinking of others, and doing things for others. As the middle child in a family of 8 children, she would often take care of her younger siblings. Then when her brother died, leaving behind a young widow and 3 month old baby, she took them in until they could get back on their feet, even with 4 young children of her own to look after. And when the grandchildren came along, she was always happy to babysit! She loved spending time with her grandchildren. After losing her son when he was just 31, she dedicated much of her life to The Compassionate Friends, helping other bereaved parents deal with the grief of losing a child. From this work, she developed another love - for butterflies. It seemed everything in her home had butterflies on it!
Another one of mom’s passions was sewing, and she was incredibly talented at it. When we were children, she made most of our clothes, and hers to match ours. When the grandchildren came along, she enjoyed making clothes for them as well, and also knitting and crocheting blankets and adorable outfits for each one of them. We all have cherished pieces of her handiwork in our homes.
Mom’s happy place was at the lake. She loved being at the lake, and spent as much time there as possible. She had a small trailer at Spruce Sands, and it was a place the grandchildren loved to go to as well, calling it “Grandma’s lake”. She was independent and resourceful, and enjoyed puttering around there, fixing and improving things.
Some of mom’s other passions were gardening, traveling (her favourite was Hawaii), going to see musicals (she loved Les Miz, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera), and the colour purple. She loved purple! She so often wore purple clothes, with matching purple jewelry, that the grandchildren all called her Grandma Purple. Her favourite holiday was Christmas, so maybe that’s why she chose this time to leave us.
Following her wishes, no formal service will be held. A small Celebration of Life for family and a few close friends, will be held on February 1.
The family would like to send a huge thank you to the staff at River East Personal Care Home, especially the nurses and aides on Charity Road for the loving care they provided mom.
Rest in peace, Mom. You will forever be loved and remembered.
Branch & Pyre Cremation Care