(1931-2013)
Virginia Isabelle (Falconer) McCabe of Loch Broom, passed away peacefully, lovingly surrounded by family, on Monday, April 8, 2013 at the age of 81 in the Palliative Care Unit, Aberdeen Hospital, New Glasgow.
Virginia was born November 17, 1931 on Caribou Island, the daughter of the late Hazel (McCabe) and Ernest Falconer.
She attended the one-room school on Caribou Island, eventually teaching her siblings at this school while still a student herself, and later graduated from the Pictou Academy. Virginia married William “Bill” McCabe on August 27th 1954 and moved to his family farm in Loch Broom. Together they raised five children. With her children in school, Virginia went back to school and graduated from the Nova Scotia Teachers College, Truro in 1971. She started teaching in Westville and soon became the reading specialist, a role she also assumed at Pictou, River John, Saltsprings and Scotsburn elementary schools. An avid reader herself and a lifelong learner, Virginia continued to upgrade her own education throughout her 22 year teaching career. She developed tremendous depth of knowledge and had an uncanny ability to foster reading even in the most challenged student. It was one of her greatest joys to see her students succeed. She continued to promote reading literacy through her involvement in the International Reading Association and following her retirement she continued to mentor children and adults for as long as her health permitted. Virginia had a passion for family genealogy and was past president of the McCabe-Bentley Family Reunion.
Community service was important to Virginia. She was a long standing member and the treasurer of the Loch Broom Community Club and a member of the Princess Rebekah Lodge, Pictou. After her retirement, she became a member of the Pictou West Community Health Board and was elected to the Chignecto Central Regional School Board. Virginia had a real soft spot for all children and she was especially proud of her children and grandchildren.
She is survived by daughters: Linda, Ottawa; Audrey (Lloyd), Upper Musquodoboit; Mary Alice (Ali), Loch Broom; sons, David and John (Claudette), Loch Broom; grandchildren: Christopher, Upper Stewiacke; Denise, Vancouver; Nicole, Montreal; Sarah, Caribbean; Alisa, Halifax; Juliana, Loch Broom; Jalil, Ottawa; Shadia, Halifax; great-granddaughter, Dahlia, Ottawa. She is also survived by brothers, Scott (Rita), Elmfield; Alex (Joan), Three Brooks; sisters: Alice (Eric) Robson, Pictou; Daphine (Rae) Webster, New Glasgow; Janet Nastiuk, Calgary; Helen (Roy) Grant, Three Brooks; Emily (Gus), Peterborough.
Virginia was predeceased by her husband Bill in 1998 and by grandson Raouf, of Ottawa in 2007.
Visitation will be held 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Thursday in McLaren Funeral Home, Pictou. Funeral will take place 2 p.m. Friday from Durham Presbyterian Church, with Rev. Barb Fotheringham officiating.
Family flowers only. If you wish to make a donation in her memory, please do so to the Aberdeen Palliative Care Society, the Northumberland Regional High School Educational Society or the Durham Presbyterian Church.
Online condolences: www.mclarenfuneral.ca