Obituary of Mary Margaret Dolan

From the beginning, Mary was destined to lead an extraordinary life. Born in Lennoxville, Scotland to a Scottish father and a Greek-French-Syrian mother, a passion to explore the world was in her DNA. Mary lived a full and adventurous life, right to the end. As a young girl, she had an opportunity to live in the UK, Peru, and New York, before her family settled in Saskatchewan. At the University of Saskatchewan, where she studied Education, she met Robert Stevenson. They married in 1966 and she worked as a teacher at Evan Hardy Collegiate until they had two girls, Jennifer (1971) and Katherine (1974). Divorced in 1979, Mary moved to Edmonton and then Toronto with husband John Rourke. She and John loved to travel and cook, making the most incredible gourmet dinners together. While in Toronto, Mary worked as a retail manager and then for the Federal government in training and development. In her late forties, she returned to school and received her Masters in Adult Education from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. She achieved this goal while working full-time and caring for John, who had become terminally ill. After John passed away and not one to give up on love, she married a third time, to James Draper. Together they explored India and shared a passion for academics. In 2000, her first grandchild arrived, which prompted Mary to take early retirement and move back to the prairies to be close to family. Retirement did not mean slowing down. She started her own consulting company and then went back to retail, working at Garden Architecture and Beneath It All in Saskatoon. She travelled extensively with her younger daughter to Ireland, Mozambique, Spain, Germany, and more. A beloved Nana, she was devoted to all of three of her grandchildren, turning one room in her home into a nursery and always having plenty of toys and books on hand and always looking for opportunities to spend time with them. One of her greatest joys in recent years was to reconnect with her extended family, which sparked more travel opportunities to the United States, France, Denmark, and Greece. Active in her community, Mary managed the Kids of Note choir, provided support to Sum Theatre and the wider arts community, was active in civic matters, and still had time to maintain her incredible garden. A true green thumb, Mary always talked about the calming meditation of digging in the dirt after a long day. Mary was generous with time, energy, and love. Being exceptionally organized and pragmatic, Mary was never afraid of confronting death, but was terrified of losing her independence as she got older. On her last day with us, Mary spent time as she usually did, helping her family, organizing matters for the Kids of Note choir, and checking in with friends. She died peacefully in her sleep, which is exactly what she would have wanted. Mary is lovingly remembered by her daughter Jennifer Fairbairn (Shawn) and grandchildren Sarah and Adam; daughter Katherine Stevenson (Ray Romanski) and grandson Hugo; sister Bernadette Kent (Gordon) and their children Damien Kent (Jackie Kripki), Matthew Kent (Kristina Stranden), Megan Kent (Bradley Lynch), and Grahame Kent (Maureen Schimnowsky); sister-in-law Bärbel Helmert; former husband Robert Stevenson (Betty Anne); aunt and uncle Jacob and Sophie (Petrou) Søde; and her dear cousins and their families around the world too numerous to name. Mary was predeceased by her parents James Anna (Petrou) Dolan, her brother Gerard Dolan, and her husbands John Rourke and James Draper. Donations in lieu of flowers would be gratefully appreciated to the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. Suite 103 – 2003 14 Street NW Calgary, AB, Canada, T2M 3N4.