Pauline (Paula) Magwood 1919-2015
Our irrepressible, energetic, intrepid and loving friend Paula died August 5, in Wolfville, Nova Scotia from a heart attack at the age of 96 years. She had been active in her community up to that day, living independently, talking with the many and varied friends she had everywhere in town. She was born Pauline Harvey on May 26 in Muncy, Pennsylvania and spent her early childhood in St. Petersburg, Florida before moving to England with her mother and brother. There she developed the English accent she never lost, and married Garth Magwood during the Battle of Britain. They had two children, Gary and Lynda (later Ladny Richmond). Paula lived in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) for two periods when her children were small and in England on and off before settling in Florida in the early 1950's. Gary moved to Toronto in 1957. Ladny moved to Ontario in the late 1970's and on to Wolfville in 1982. Paula soon followed in one of her several cargo vans which she drove back and forth from Wolfville to Florida to avoid Canadian winters. Her favourite was the one she painted orange and named “The Pumpkin.” She was usually accompanied by “Miss Figgy,” a spindly fig tree and was hosted along the way by many Quaker families. The vans were always equipped with a bed for sleeping on the road. Every fall she bungeed dressers and shelves to the interior wood panels and regularly smuggled her plants plus grapefruits and oranges over the border. She was a terrible cook but her marmalade was awesome and she died with a fridge full of oranges, ready to make another batch for Gary. She was proud of her gypsy-like, nomadic life and suffered intensely at having to cease driving her van at the age of 95. Paula was a “jill of all trades” who held a multitude of different types of jobs to support herself and family: lab technician, hotel manager, actor, newspaper ad sales, library assistant, animal guardian, school bus driver, writer, novelist, a character at Disney World, and many more. In 1938 she even traveled in Northern Ontario as a representative for the Jane Seymour Cosmetic Company! She was an inveterate letter writer who had a story for every occasion, always told with wit and humour. She even sent postcards to folks she met on her trips, including shopkeepers and acquaintances. Her love of nature, animals and birds was a source of deep spiritual sustenance and she was a passionate vegetarian. She deeply cared for people she knew and could remember the names of everyone and their children and was sure to ask after them. She practiced yoga daily, was an avid swimmer and read Deepak Chopra regularly, for which she credited her amazing agility and youthfulness well into her nineties. She attended the Annapolis Valley Quaker Meeting, supported the Saturday Wolfville Peace Vigil, sang with the local gaggle of the Raging Grannies and ushered at the Festival Theatre. For a time she lived in a buddhist retreat centre in Vermont. She studied buddhism like her daughter and was especially inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh. She is survived by her son Gary of Latta Mills, Ontario, daughter-in-law, Sandra Zabludofsky, granddaughter Anya Richmond of Halifax, son-in-law JP Huang of Wolfville, grandsons Chris and Greg Magwood of eastern Ontario and three great-granddaughters, Emma Bowen, Gabby Magwood, and Rosie Falcone Magwood, whom she visited in Ontario in May this year. She was predeceased by her daughter, Ladny and brother, Jack Harvey. There will be a celebration of her life on Sunday August 30 at 3:00 pm at the Wolfville Farmers' Market, followed by a reception. The community of Wolfville and other friends are invited. Donations in memory of Paula may be made to the Victorian Order of Nurses, Annapolis Valley and to the Valley Hospice Foundation. Much appreciation to Dr. Alison Wellwood for superb care of Paula over the last several years.
“If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”
Seneca quotes (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)