Mabel Macwilliam

MABEL MacWILLIAM, nee Stephenson Formerly of Shelburne, Nova Scotia; passed away peacefully in Durham, England, UK, on 1 December, aged 88. Born in 1928 in Sunderland, in northern England, Mabel grew up in the ancient cathedral city of Durham in the years before and during the Second World War. Her father, serving in France, was caught behind enemy lines when the Germans swept through northern France, but he managed to escape via Dunkirk. After school, Mabel became a Registered Nurse, joined Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps and travelled to the Far East to work in medical posts in Singapore, Japan and Korea in the aftermath of the Korean War. While there, in Hong Kong, she met a young British doctor, John MacWilliam, who was to become her husband. Back in England, they married in 1956. They had three sons and Mabel looked after the young family while John worked as a GP in northern England. In 1963 the family emigrated to Nova Scotia, settling eventually in Shelburne. Mabel returned to nursing for a time, working at Roseway Hospital. Later she also worked at Shelburne Library. After John retired, they returned to England in 1992, to be closer to Mabel’s mother and sister. They spent a long retirement in Durham, celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in 2016. John died shortly afterwards, in October, 2016. Mabel is survived by her three sons, Richard (in Alberta), Ian (England) and Peter (Nova Scotia), and a granddaughter, Mika.