Marion Moist.Courtesy of family
Marion Moist: Traveller. Couponer. Dog whisperer. Matriarch. Born Sept. 16, 1954, in Bellshill, Scotland; died April 29, 2023, in Winnipeg; from ovarian cancer; aged 68.
In Larkhall, Scotland, where she was raised, Marion Dunsmore was a skilled garment worker. At 21, she decided to travel, and three companies were offering airfare for employment: Canada, Australia and South Africa. She opted for Canada, and Winnipeg, over Toronto, arriving in 1975. But the Winnipeg factory was a sweatshop and she quit after six weeks. Homesick, she wanted to return to Scotland, but could not afford the airfare. So, she found three part-time jobs, paid off her air passage to her former employer, and was hired to process health claims at Manitoba Health. By then she had already made lifelong friends and knew she was staying.
She had also met Paul Moist at a bar. Their differences complemented each other; Paul the more serious planner, Marion the carefree social butterfly. The couple married in 1979.
Marion loved her job and was a workplace shop steward for more than 30 years. She also loved being a mother to Kelly and Scott. While Paul often coached the kids’ teams, she became a hockey and ringette manager. Marion learned to skate so she could appreciate the outdoors and skate with her family every Christmas Eve at the Assiniboine Park duck pond. Summers were spent at the family cabin at Gull Lake, Man. (Once the kids had grown she played in a ringette league as goalie of the “Pink Ladies.”)
One of her constant lessons to her children was to never purchase anything for full price. If there was a sale or discount, she knew about it, and would not accept anything less. Kelly and Scott remember many mortifying waits while she fought the good fight at the checkout counter.
As Gran, Marion allowed her twin grandsons to get as messy as they wanted, while she baked and played with them frequently. While playing Little Baby Bum’s rendition of the Grand Ol’ Duke of York, she’d march around the living room, a favourite time for the four-year-olds.
With others, however, Marion could be impatient. She despised being placed on hold and did not accept delayed air flights gracefully. Her travels might take her to Bruce Springsteen concerts in Glasgow, Minneapolis, Toronto and Chicago, or exploring with the Golden Girls. These five special women celebrated birthdays and holidays in Jamaica, Los Cabos and Las Vegas. They decorated their shared hotel rooms and partied heartily. Whenever debates arose regarding just what had happened the previous evening, Marion, a non-drinker, was always able to fill in the blanks.
Marion loved all dogs, and always adopted strays, often selecting the dog who had been at the shelter the longest. She treasured five family pets over four-plus decades (Nimbus, Champ, Pedro, Stella and Roxy), and each canine grew in size with each adoption. Weather permitting, her dogs went shopping with her and were always treated as equal family members. Roxy, her most recent, was a rottweiler/bull mastiff cross, who died two months after Marion (perhaps of a broken heart).
For Marion, life was about the journey, not the destination. Between each sunrise and sunset, which she loved dearly, she pursued adventure through conversation and non-stop motion.
Her four-and-a-half-year ovarian cancer journey had many ups and downs. She had many rounds of chemo, some more difficult than others. She handled these challenges with grace and was often the comforter to her caregivers. By her side at every appointment and in the hallways when COVID disallowed his presence, Paul was with her always. In Marion’s last year, she guided two friends facing their own cancer journeys, while being terminally ill herself.
Her loyalty to and love for her family and friends knew no bounds. With each sunrise, her presence is felt.
Kelly Moist is Marion Moist’s daughter.
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