Margaret Ramona Golden

It is with profound sadness that we announce that Peggy passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 11, 2025 at Grace Villa Long-Term Care Home in Hamilton, Ontario at the age of 85.

Predeceased by her husband of 48 years, Hugh, and lovingly remembered by her children Michael (Deborah) and Kelly (David), her grandchildren Spencer, Dylan, Ella, William and Harrison and her siblings Lorraine, Daphne, Diane, Dale, Sharon, Valerie and Blair. Predeceased by her parents, Michael and Bridget Lahey of Bell Island, Newfoundland, and her siblings Regina, Don, Brian, Doreen, and Barry.

Peggy was a woman of great faith and many talents. She never missed attending Mass, if she could help it, and could always be found saying her prayers; she was quick with a Mass card to friends and family in need and always had on hand some type of religious offering, like a scapular, if your situation required it (who knew there were so many colours of scapular anyway?!) The only thing more religious than her fervour for Mass was the experience of her homemade baked bread and buns – oh boy! Combined with her trademarked spaghetti (she taught the Italians how to do it!), soups and stews, or even just a cup of tea, her kitchen was always the most welcoming place. Her talent for decorating a Christmas tree would have, in a different life, landed her a job at the big department stores of yesteryear in the biggest cities of the world. And her ability to keep a household clean of any dirt or dust or grime would have been a helpful service to anyone who needed a clean, organized space – a great consultant to health authorities, royalty or even NASA she would have been! But as a homemaker was where she found her greatest joy – caring for her family. And it was in this way that she shared her gifts and talents with countless other children and their families as a caregiver.

Her fall in December of 2018 in Ottawa changed her life forever and required a stay in hospital for five months to be followed by a stay in respite for another six before a move to Hamilton was required. Her determination and faith allowed her to share another five and a half years with her family, allowing for her youngest grandchildren to get to know their “Nanny” in the same way that her older ones had before.

Eventually, however, her dementia would exact its toll. When the end came, it did so seemingly suddenly, although her faith had her well prepared for her next journey.

Special thanks to her team of caregivers over the years here in Ottawa and Hamilton – her family doctors, Peter Souchen in Ottawa and Christina Fugere in Hamilton, the great assortment of specialists who cared for her in Hamilton at St. Joseph and the Juravinsky hospital, the PSWs from the LHIN, especially Wendy and Sadie, and the team on 2nd floor at the Grace Villa Long-Term Care Home, especially Monica, Norita, and Kelly-Ann.

A funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, May 21 at 10:00 am at St. Charles Garnier Catholic Church on 129 Hughson St. S. in Hamilton with a private family celebration to follow in Newfoundland this summer. In her memory, donations to the Diocese of Hamilton, in lieu of flowers, would be appreciated by the family.