Obituary of Mary Will

With sadness and love, the family of Mary Will announces her passing on November 16, 2016, at Central Haven Special Care Home in Saskatoon. Mary was born on a farm near the village of Inverkeilor, Scotland, on July 4, 1920, second youngest of the eight children of Helen (nee Petrie) and William Stott. She spent a happy childhood working and playing on the farm, but also enjoyed going to school, and was a good student. After leaving school at the age of fifteen, Mary went into domestic service. In 1941, she enlisted in the Royal Air Force Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). Over the next years she was posted to several air force bases in England and Scotland, before her final posting at the base near Wombleton, Yorkshire, England. It was at Wombleton she met a young Canadian aero engine mechanic, Chuck Will. Their courting days were spent during the last days of WWII, and they were married on August 4th, 1945 in Arbroath, Scotland. After Chuck’s repatriation to Canada, it was a full year before the couple were reunited. Mary and baby Patricia crossed the ocean on the last War Bride boat, travelled across Canada by train, and arrived at the CN station in downtown Saskatoon, on October 15, 1946. The young couple lived first in a converted garage, then for eight years in a wartime house in Aberdeen Place, just off what is now Idylwyld Drive. Daughters Linda, Beverly and Gwendolyn, and son John were born during these years. In 1956, the Wills moved to their newly-built house in Montgomery Place. Many hours were spent tending the large garden and flower beds on the half-acre lot. As well as a loving, supportive wife, mother and homemaker, Mary was a good friend and neighbour. There was always time for a cup of tea at her table. She was a founding member of Trinity United Church, and of the Jubilee unit of the UCW. She stayed connected with her war bride and British immigrant friends; once a month she would join her ‘English girls’ or her ‘Scottish girls’ for an evening of visiting and laughter – and rich desserts! In later years she joined the Saskatchewan War Brides Association and enjoyed local and provincial events, always with laughter and song. Mary was a prolific knitter, also did crocheting and sewing, and tried many different crafts over the years. She liked word games, and was an accomplished Scrabble player. She loved to go for walks, and was a bowler for several decades. Mary and Chuck enjoyed more than fifteen years of healthy retirement, and took many wonderful trips: tours of Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand, Scotland, England, Ireland, Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States, and a cruise through the Panama Canal. Though Mary and Chuck were able to stay together in their home until 2009, health issues sent her first to a private care home, and ultimately to long term care in March of 2010. The family would like to express sincere appreciation to the staff at Central Haven for the kindness and compassion shown to Mary, and the loving care she received during her years living there. Mary was predeceased by her parents Helen and William Stott, her husband Chuck (2014), her daughter Linda Joan, all of her siblings, in-laws Edith and William R. Will, and all but one of her generation in Chuck’s family. She is survived by her children Pat (Dennis) Yaremy, Bev Will (Bob McNaughton), Gwen Will, and John (Mary-Pat) Will; her grandchildren Gerry (Bonnie) Yaremy, Steven (Melanie) Yaremy, and Elaine Will (Mark Allard); and her great-grandchildren Rhett, Oakley, Holden and Tori. She is survived also by her sister-in-law Betty Horvath, special niece Jenny Norrie and family in Scotland, and many other nieces, nephews and cousins in Scotland, England, the US and Canada. Donations in Mary’s memory may be made to Central Haven Special Care Home (Sherbrooke Foundation Inc., please specify ‘Central Haven’), or to St. David’s Trinity United Church, or to a charity of the donor’s choice.