Obituary of Joan Isobel MacKinnon

It is with profound sadness that I announce the passing of my mother, Joan MacKinnon, on July 27th, the eve of what would have been her and dad’s 62 wedding anniversary. Joan married Bernie MacKinnon in New Waterford in 1962 and their life of adventure began in earnest. In their early years Joan was a volunteer religious education teacher, a volunteer visitor at nursing homes, and canvasser for the Cancer Society, Diabetes, and the Heart and Lung Associations. When they moved to Halifax in 1976, mom began her studies in nutrition at Mount Saint Vincent University, graduating with a Bachelor of Home Economics and then from Dalhousie with a Masters of Education.in 1981. Moves to Seoul, South Korea, Lagos, Nigeria, and Jakarta, Indonesia saw Joan teaching elementary and high school as well as continuing with volunteering for church organizations and helping local women in Nigeria improve nutrition for themselves and their children. Back in Halifax, both Joan and Bernie had a bi-annual project of making or collecting hats, scarves, gloves and food vouchers, then distributing them up and down Spring Garden Road for the houseless in Halifax. Upon her daughter’s diagnosis of MS, Joan began volunteering for the MS Society of Canada (now MS Canada) in a number of roles from stuffing envelopes to serving on the Atlantic Division’s board of Directors for eight years. Joan was also very politically active (behind the scenes) as a lifetime member of the PC Party. Joan and Bernie did everything in their power to ensure a good start for their children. Lifelong learning was important to both and they practiced what they preached, taking courses over the years and increasing their knowledge base of their careers and hobbies and sharing what they learned. Joan was predeceased by her husband, Bernard Michael MacKinnon; mother, Mary Bel MacKinnon; father, John (Big) Archie MacKinnon; stepmother, Nellie MacKinnon; brothers, William, Peter, and Angus (Bicky); and sisters, Anna and Theresa. Joan is survived by children, Shauna Marie and Michael as well as three grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Many thanks to the palliative care team from Nova Scotia Health, particularly nurse Cindy Bell, the home care workers who visited daily, the VON, and Always Home Homecare who all allowed mom to pass peacefully at home on her terms. A joint celebration of life for Joan and Bernie will be held Saturday, August 3, at 11 AM to 1:00pm in T.J. Tracey Cremation and Burial Specialists, 71 McQuade Lake Crescent, Beechville (Bayer’s Lake Industrial Park). Donations in memory of Joan may be made to MS Canada, Chalice, Mission to Seafarers or a charity of one’s choice.