Obituary for Margaret Ellen Kralik
EULOGY OF MARGARET KRALIK (CAMERON)
DECEMBER 14, 1935 – MARCH 8, 2022
“We will lay to rest this mountain beauty, that the Lord’s called Home”
“And I can see her up in glory, I can see her through the pines as Heaven’s Angels carried her away”
Well, yet another life story has come to a close. It is with sadness and so much gratefulness, that we announce, the passing of Margaret Ellen Kralik, also known to those who loved her, as Marg, Mom or her most favorite handle, “Honey”.
Where do we begin? To be able to tell the incredible story of Marg … So full of life and laughter. Our beautiful fun-loving mountain beauty!
Margaret was born in Golden, BC, on December 14, 1937, to her parents Neil and Ellen Cameron, along with her two older sisters, Ann and Cathy and then ten years later, her baby brother Don, would arrive.
Her mother was very strict, being the local teacher in town, and her father, with his gentle and kind disposition, decided to simply let Ellen be the disciplinarian, so consequently, Marg spent a great deal of teenage years, crafting ways to dodge her mom.
One particular story that Don shared, is that during the hot summer months, he would sleep in a single bed out on the covered porch of their big house on main street. He recalls plenty of times, Marg coming home very late and she would crawl into his tiny bed with him … along with the strong smell of alcohol on her breath. Although she loved him dearly, it wasn’t just her sisterly affection for him, that prompted her to do this – it was the almighty fear of getting caught by her very strict mother and much to Marg’s delight, her mom believing that she was an awesome big sister, would sing praises to her, for being such a wonderful, kind, and caring girl.
For as long as her own children could remember, she would boast to her kids about being a model student and how her favorite subjects were always P.E. and Social Studies, but after hearing the many stories of her younger years, it’s quite likely to them, that she actually excelled at Social Coordinating and Too Much Fun 101.
Golden was, as small town as it gets, and she, along with her best friends, Marlene, Maxine and Elsie pretty much ran the town for many of their growing up years.
After graduating Grade 12, Marg went on to Cranbrook to live with her cousin May and her husband Walt Ratcliffe, to complete her Grade 13. It was during this time, that she and her cousin Bev, known later to us, as Auntie Sparky, became as close as sisters. Marg, being the older of the two, did not manage to set a very great example but Sparky claims to this very day, that no matter how bad Marg’s kids were as teenagers, they couldn’t hold a candle to the two of them and their antics. After hearing this news, it is now believed, that Randy, Sandy and Greg, had set out on a challenge to give Marg a run for her money.
She finished up Grade 13 and headed back to work at The Golden Lodge for Bob Wong, who ran the restaurant. It is there that she learned the trade of being a waitress and much to her dismay, sometimes having to wash dishes. Unfortunately, she personally felt that this task was very much beneath her and word on the street, from her sister Ann, was that she was quite possibly “the biggest slob she ever laid eyes upon”. Ann said she had even found petrified apple cores and an occasional chicken bone under her bed. What a shock this was to her children when they discovered this dirty secret … this disgusting tidbit of information, that she had been hiding from them for years, because this, was most certainly, not the woman they knew.
Pretty much to anyone who knew her she was the most impeccable house cleaner. Like we are talking full on clean freak, with a sparkling home that was ALWAYS in “Apple Pie Order”. Every kid in the neighborhood had to learn the hard way and it was only sheer stupidity or great courage, that you dare step foot on her freshly vacuumed, plush carpet.
She was well known for her love of vacuuming, which sadly, she would pass on, as a quality trait, to only TWO of her children. As you may have already guessed, it wasn’t Randy, who had been fondly nicknamed, Pig Pen. She took great pride in the quality of an Electrolux and she was even more elated when she upgraded to the high powered, built in Vacu-Flow system and managed to wear out several carpets. Her dream though, which sadly never came to fruition, was to own her very own ride-on vacuum.
Marg moved to Calgary in the late 1950’s, where she attended The Henderson College of Business and though she recalls, there was not a whole lot of studying going on, she held a particular memory that she attended college at the same time that Winston Bruce had. He went on to be the famous rodeo arena director at The Calgary Stampede and she went on to be the famous fun director of parties and shenanigans.
After college she landed an office job and it was during this time, she met the good-looking Rudi Kralik, from The Drumheller Valley.
She always referred to him as “Rudi the Honky” “The King” or just plain old “Rudo”.
They began to casually date, but Marg, being unsure of the intentions of this good-looking Adonis, decided to put him to the test. He would call up for a date and she would make up any old story. Sick with the flu … babysitting her nephew… basically just not answering the phone … but in reality, she was out with the girls, having the time of her life. Her roommates will never forget the time that he rudely showed up unannounced, at their apartment and knocked at their door. She knew ‘this knock’, so instead of answering, like any decent girl would, she got down on her hands and knees, very close to the door and she barked like a guard dog. Poor Rudi!
She once had the audacity to tell him that she was heading to Golden to spend a quiet weekend at home with her parents. Well home she went, hitchhiking back to Golden (yet another shocking detail that her kids learned about this mother of theirs, and also to discover that this was something she did all the time) … so she arrived in Golden, only to turn around and come straight back to Calgary and party it up with the Golden gang …all the while poor old ‘Rudi the Honky’ was moping around her sister Ann’s place, waiting for her return.
Well, long story short, she could not resist his looks and charm and they got married!
Rudi was working for the phone company and Marg was working at the income tax office and the two were married on December 15, 1961. Soon after, along came their first-born son, Randy, followed by the birth of a girl, Sandra (Sandy) and three years later, Greg. They purchased their first house in Mayland Height and this is where they would settle and raise their family.
Marg was exceptional at multi-tasking. Juggling a full-time career and raising three children was not a common practice, back in those days.
She landed a job, not far from the house, as a switchboard operator at Crown Zellerbach Paper and Lumber company. This is the place where she would meet many a life-long good friends. These were truly the best of times! It was almost like she was plucked straight out of a ‘Mad Men’ episode. Not only was she smart but what a looker she was and she had an incredible eye for fashion. She loved Saturday afternoon shopping at The Bay and The Parisienne and she would outfit herself and her kids to the nines.
Marg had some really strange traits. One in particular that stands out, is her love for late night eating. People even called her “The Midnight Snacker”. Everyone knew this was a common occurrence. She once ate an entire roast all by herself between midnight and morning!
Another one of her talents was nicknaming people. She gave out so many fantastic nicknames to her family, friends and the neighborhood kids, that we actually forgot their real names.
She had the best attitude about not caring what other people thought of her. One of her all-time favorite sayings was “Do I Look Like I Give a Rat’s Ass?” and it would have definitely been engraved on her headstone, had she not been so specific in her will, about being cremated.
Take her like she was … ‘the real deal’. Sharp and witty and always full of fun. She flew by the seat of her pants and she just LOVED, as Rudi would call it, “GALAVANTING!” Over to the neighbor’s place after supper for tea, flying to her sister Ann’s in Illinois, travelling all over North America, with her many friends and family and in the later years just heading out to the mall, the movies, lunch & the casino with Sandy, Jean, Pat, or Suzanne. She truly had a gypsy’s soul.
Besides being an awesome mom and grandma, one of her best characteristics was her love and loyalty toward her friends. She loved her friends and she was a really good friend to many. It gives us a sense of pride and much comfort to know that her truest and life-long friends continued to stick with her during these last years of her life, when Alzheimer’s took over her health. It really is wonderful to know just how many of her friends loved her back too.
Marg was the queen of entertaining. Martha Stewart had nothing on this chick. Her parties were epic! She would cook for weeks ahead of time and lay out a spread fit for royalty. The house would be full of laughter. Fifty or sixty people singing and dancing to the best classic county & western tunes. It’s is during these times, that we her kids, truly learned a deep love for music. We look back now and see just what an amazing gift this really was. The children were always welcome to partake … in fact Marg and Rudi insisted. The more the merrier. We would also attend the parties of their friends. Auntie Judy’s was so much fun with all of the kid’s running wild, like Banshees. The family reunions at The Lake, The Ratcliffe’s & Auntie Heather’s. Auntie Marg would make those poor sweet little girls, Marnie, Kelly, Laura and Tara dance on the tables until the early morning hours … but honestly, it was the highlight of our growing up years. We loved her parties!
It is no wonder her kids got so damned good at it.
Looking back, her children have come to fully realize, just what an amazing and special woman she truly was! She had a true passion for life. She was brave and confident. She had to be …
She was raising “three assholes” (that is in her own words) who were putting her to the test, daily. How she never got put in “the nuthouse” is something short of a miracle. She was so skilled at juggling her home and work life and it took constant effort to be a good wife, a great mother and a successful career woman.
But it was these choices, that gave her family a far better life.
She organized and coordinator her life in a way that most people would never begin to even imagine. She was THE BEST at doing Christmas and Easter holidays and her extra income allowed for her and Rudi to take the family on the fun summer holidays and really enjoy some of the luxuries, that many didn’t have.
She truly sacrificed so much and she was selfless when it came to the people that she loved most.
A long and successful career and a great homemaker. She continued on as Office Manager at Crown in the Lumber Division, for many more years and even when she got short-changed out of her pension, that didn’t stop her from bouncing right back and landing a new job downtown, at UNOCAL Oil at the age of 50 something. She really was brave!
She loved the working life, but it was to really to nobody’s surprise, when her grandbabies came along, that she knew she had found something far better. Yes … this was right in her wheel-house! She was something! ‘The Baby Whisperer’. She could swaddle any baby and she even got tiny baby Kelly, with the worst cholic ever, settled down to sleep every night. She always knew what to do to comfort them and make them coo, smile and laugh.
She outfitted these precious little humans to the nines too.
Even her name was unique! Not grandma, granny, nana … Nope.
It was “Honey” … That is what each one of them called her and she forever, will be known as Honey.
Honey was the most amazing and fun grandma. She sang and played and laughed and read to them and taught them so much. Mostly, how to be goofy. She loved those little guys so much. Taking them everywhere … the park, swimming, winter festivals, camping.
They could do no wrong. She was like their “ride or die” grandma. No matter what they did, she would always defend them. They were perfect in her eyes.
They could have come home after being suspended for beating up a kid at school and she would be like … “but were you the cutest one there?”
She loved to sing to them. “Skin-A-Ma Rinky Dink” and of course the old classic written and produced by Marg herself “Leap the Leap The Dodo,” She fondly nicknamed them all “Piss Ants” and who could forget her famous poetry recitals like, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Hobos and Tramps”, which will forever be engrained into their memories.
While she was still that younger, hot and hip, grandma, she and Rudi would take Kelly and Brad on some fun mini vacations. But … there was this one particular time, when Brad went off with them by himself, to the USA, for some shopping and then back to Garbutt’s Lake, so he could do a little fishing with Rudi. AND of course, when the fun relatives were there, it was bound to get a bit out of hand.
Well, Marg “the lightweight”, overindulged just a little, on the white wine. She stumbled back to the trailer and fell into bed. Rudi and Brad of course were sound asleep, when they heard this terrible racket. Rudi hollers “Marg, what the hell are your doing?” She says “I’m gonna be sick”, as she raced for the door. Well, she never made it and she barfed all over the stove. The next morning, being rather sheepish and very ashamed of her actions, she made Brad vow to never tell this story to anyone … “especially to his mother”. Funny thing, though, it was the very first story he proudly shared when he arrived home. He couldn’t wait to rat her out.
“Traitor” she yelled, laughingly and this became his new nickname, that stuck for quite some time, thereafter.
Her complete and utter lack of drinking skills and getting tipsy after only two or three drinks, was well known, to all that knew her. Her puking became somewhat of an art-form. Now back in the 70’s, driving under the influence was not as frowned upon as it is today. So, Rudi would be driving home from the party and she would holler “pull over, I’m gonna be sick”. Rudi, knowing that this may draw some negative attention of sorts, just kept driving. Well, low and behold, somehow, she managed to find a quick solution … well, so to speak. She barfed right in one of those fancy purses of her and then another time, dead aim - right into the large pocket of her most beautiful fur coat! It was innovative, we will give her that … BUT only, because she knew she would NEVER hear the end of it, if she actually got sick in Rudi’s car.
Underneath all her fun-loving ways and all that goofiness, Marg also had a serious side. She was the most incredibly smart person and she cared deeply about the people in her life. She was the epitome of giver. Over the years, she helped so many friends and relatives get through some of their tougher times. She literally did give others “the shirt off her back”. She was thoughtful and kind and highly intuitive and she was the other half of the glue that held this family together. She was the strongest support system for her children and grandchildren and we could never re-pay her for all that she has given to us.
She never let anyone go hungry. She took in more stray kids and relatives … which Rudi lovingly referred to as their “Star Boarders”.
Marg was as ‘true blue’, as they came. She was a remarkable woman, a great wife, the most wonderful mom, grandma and aunt and a loyal and life-long friend.
She was always smiling and boy, we are going to miss her like crazy.
Marg’s love of music ran deep down in her soul. She never stopped singing and dancing and she could yodel with the best of them.
The last several years of her life, she was badly afflicted with Alzheimer’s, the most debilitating and cruel disease, and it put forth every last ditched effort, to rob her of her past and the years of so many treasured memories that were tucked away in her mind, like cherished souvenirs.
But … at the end, it was the music that we sang and the songs we played for her … and with her … that made her so very happy, and it soothed her. She never forgot the words to the so many songs that she loved over the years.
The last years of Marg’s life, were extremely challenging but the last few weeks, she became coherent and she was so vividly clear in her mind, again, which gave us all great solace, in knowing that she remembered so many of the details of her past and this incredible and wonderful life that she had lived. She knew exactly just how much she loved us … as well as just how very much we loved and cherished her.
Tucked away in her mind, were STILL all of the best memories of a life ‘well lived’.
Marg, was predeceased by her parents, Neil and Ellen Cameron, her infant brother Neil Alexander, her sisters Cathy Cameron and Ann Weaver, her Auntie Lil, her nephew Shaun Trouesdale, her closest and special cousin May Ratcliffe and her cousins Wayne, Gordon and Cam Ratcliffe.
She was also predeceased in 2021, by her husband, Rudi Kralik, of 59 years. They always loved each other through thick and thin, even when they joked about their “love-hate” relationship. They were dedicated to each other and it was a good love and it was real love and it was fun … well mostly. They stuck together during the difficult times and their love was definitely put to the test on many occasions, particularly when Greg had his serious car accident. They persevered and they taught their kids about the importance of family and commitment.
Marg leaves behind her very favorite brother Don Cameron (Judy) as well as her sister-in -law Margaret Cook (who sadly, we have just learned, of her recent passing on April 19, 2022), her USA family, nieces, Sue Podolak and Allison Trouesdale, her nephew Ralph Weaver (Traci) along with so many more family and friends.
The people that will miss her the most; her first born son, Randy (Karen) her daughter, Sandra (Tom), her youngest son Greg (Janice) and her most prized and beloved possessions; her five incredible grandchildren; Kelly (Chris), Brad (Kelsey), Dayle-Marie (Ty), Darry and Chase, and her two ‘greatest of great’ grandchildren; her special boy Jamie and her sweetest of sweet girls, “sweet smiling”, Gracie, as well as her honorary grandson Tanner.
**********************************************
A private Celebration of Marg’s Life will be held on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 2:00 pm at The Royal Canadian Legion Chapelhow Branch in Calgary, for her family and closest friends, where we will share some stories and listen to some of her favorite music, raise a glass in toast to honour Marg and to celebrate the life of this beautiful mountain girl that we all loved so dearly.
DECEMBER 14, 1935 – MARCH 8, 2022
“We will lay to rest this mountain beauty, that the Lord’s called Home”
“And I can see her up in glory, I can see her through the pines as Heaven’s Angels carried her away”
Well, yet another life story has come to a close. It is with sadness and so much gratefulness, that we announce, the passing of Margaret Ellen Kralik, also known to those who loved her, as Marg, Mom or her most favorite handle, “Honey”.
Where do we begin? To be able to tell the incredible story of Marg … So full of life and laughter. Our beautiful fun-loving mountain beauty!
Margaret was born in Golden, BC, on December 14, 1937, to her parents Neil and Ellen Cameron, along with her two older sisters, Ann and Cathy and then ten years later, her baby brother Don, would arrive.
Her mother was very strict, being the local teacher in town, and her father, with his gentle and kind disposition, decided to simply let Ellen be the disciplinarian, so consequently, Marg spent a great deal of teenage years, crafting ways to dodge her mom.
One particular story that Don shared, is that during the hot summer months, he would sleep in a single bed out on the covered porch of their big house on main street. He recalls plenty of times, Marg coming home very late and she would crawl into his tiny bed with him … along with the strong smell of alcohol on her breath. Although she loved him dearly, it wasn’t just her sisterly affection for him, that prompted her to do this – it was the almighty fear of getting caught by her very strict mother and much to Marg’s delight, her mom believing that she was an awesome big sister, would sing praises to her, for being such a wonderful, kind, and caring girl.
For as long as her own children could remember, she would boast to her kids about being a model student and how her favorite subjects were always P.E. and Social Studies, but after hearing the many stories of her younger years, it’s quite likely to them, that she actually excelled at Social Coordinating and Too Much Fun 101.
Golden was, as small town as it gets, and she, along with her best friends, Marlene, Maxine and Elsie pretty much ran the town for many of their growing up years.
After graduating Grade 12, Marg went on to Cranbrook to live with her cousin May and her husband Walt Ratcliffe, to complete her Grade 13. It was during this time, that she and her cousin Bev, known later to us, as Auntie Sparky, became as close as sisters. Marg, being the older of the two, did not manage to set a very great example but Sparky claims to this very day, that no matter how bad Marg’s kids were as teenagers, they couldn’t hold a candle to the two of them and their antics. After hearing this news, it is now believed, that Randy, Sandy and Greg, had set out on a challenge to give Marg a run for her money.
She finished up Grade 13 and headed back to work at The Golden Lodge for Bob Wong, who ran the restaurant. It is there that she learned the trade of being a waitress and much to her dismay, sometimes having to wash dishes. Unfortunately, she personally felt that this task was very much beneath her and word on the street, from her sister Ann, was that she was quite possibly “the biggest slob she ever laid eyes upon”. Ann said she had even found petrified apple cores and an occasional chicken bone under her bed. What a shock this was to her children when they discovered this dirty secret … this disgusting tidbit of information, that she had been hiding from them for years, because this, was most certainly, not the woman they knew.
Pretty much to anyone who knew her she was the most impeccable house cleaner. Like we are talking full on clean freak, with a sparkling home that was ALWAYS in “Apple Pie Order”. Every kid in the neighborhood had to learn the hard way and it was only sheer stupidity or great courage, that you dare step foot on her freshly vacuumed, plush carpet.
She was well known for her love of vacuuming, which sadly, she would pass on, as a quality trait, to only TWO of her children. As you may have already guessed, it wasn’t Randy, who had been fondly nicknamed, Pig Pen. She took great pride in the quality of an Electrolux and she was even more elated when she upgraded to the high powered, built in Vacu-Flow system and managed to wear out several carpets. Her dream though, which sadly never came to fruition, was to own her very own ride-on vacuum.
Marg moved to Calgary in the late 1950’s, where she attended The Henderson College of Business and though she recalls, there was not a whole lot of studying going on, she held a particular memory that she attended college at the same time that Winston Bruce had. He went on to be the famous rodeo arena director at The Calgary Stampede and she went on to be the famous fun director of parties and shenanigans.
After college she landed an office job and it was during this time, she met the good-looking Rudi Kralik, from The Drumheller Valley.
She always referred to him as “Rudi the Honky” “The King” or just plain old “Rudo”.
They began to casually date, but Marg, being unsure of the intentions of this good-looking Adonis, decided to put him to the test. He would call up for a date and she would make up any old story. Sick with the flu … babysitting her nephew… basically just not answering the phone … but in reality, she was out with the girls, having the time of her life. Her roommates will never forget the time that he rudely showed up unannounced, at their apartment and knocked at their door. She knew ‘this knock’, so instead of answering, like any decent girl would, she got down on her hands and knees, very close to the door and she barked like a guard dog. Poor Rudi!
She once had the audacity to tell him that she was heading to Golden to spend a quiet weekend at home with her parents. Well home she went, hitchhiking back to Golden (yet another shocking detail that her kids learned about this mother of theirs, and also to discover that this was something she did all the time) … so she arrived in Golden, only to turn around and come straight back to Calgary and party it up with the Golden gang …all the while poor old ‘Rudi the Honky’ was moping around her sister Ann’s place, waiting for her return.
Well, long story short, she could not resist his looks and charm and they got married!
Rudi was working for the phone company and Marg was working at the income tax office and the two were married on December 15, 1961. Soon after, along came their first-born son, Randy, followed by the birth of a girl, Sandra (Sandy) and three years later, Greg. They purchased their first house in Mayland Height and this is where they would settle and raise their family.
Marg was exceptional at multi-tasking. Juggling a full-time career and raising three children was not a common practice, back in those days.
She landed a job, not far from the house, as a switchboard operator at Crown Zellerbach Paper and Lumber company. This is the place where she would meet many a life-long good friends. These were truly the best of times! It was almost like she was plucked straight out of a ‘Mad Men’ episode. Not only was she smart but what a looker she was and she had an incredible eye for fashion. She loved Saturday afternoon shopping at The Bay and The Parisienne and she would outfit herself and her kids to the nines.
Marg had some really strange traits. One in particular that stands out, is her love for late night eating. People even called her “The Midnight Snacker”. Everyone knew this was a common occurrence. She once ate an entire roast all by herself between midnight and morning!
Another one of her talents was nicknaming people. She gave out so many fantastic nicknames to her family, friends and the neighborhood kids, that we actually forgot their real names.
She had the best attitude about not caring what other people thought of her. One of her all-time favorite sayings was “Do I Look Like I Give a Rat’s Ass?” and it would have definitely been engraved on her headstone, had she not been so specific in her will, about being cremated.
Take her like she was … ‘the real deal’. Sharp and witty and always full of fun. She flew by the seat of her pants and she just LOVED, as Rudi would call it, “GALAVANTING!” Over to the neighbor’s place after supper for tea, flying to her sister Ann’s in Illinois, travelling all over North America, with her many friends and family and in the later years just heading out to the mall, the movies, lunch & the casino with Sandy, Jean, Pat, or Suzanne. She truly had a gypsy’s soul.
Besides being an awesome mom and grandma, one of her best characteristics was her love and loyalty toward her friends. She loved her friends and she was a really good friend to many. It gives us a sense of pride and much comfort to know that her truest and life-long friends continued to stick with her during these last years of her life, when Alzheimer’s took over her health. It really is wonderful to know just how many of her friends loved her back too.
Marg was the queen of entertaining. Martha Stewart had nothing on this chick. Her parties were epic! She would cook for weeks ahead of time and lay out a spread fit for royalty. The house would be full of laughter. Fifty or sixty people singing and dancing to the best classic county & western tunes. It’s is during these times, that we her kids, truly learned a deep love for music. We look back now and see just what an amazing gift this really was. The children were always welcome to partake … in fact Marg and Rudi insisted. The more the merrier. We would also attend the parties of their friends. Auntie Judy’s was so much fun with all of the kid’s running wild, like Banshees. The family reunions at The Lake, The Ratcliffe’s & Auntie Heather’s. Auntie Marg would make those poor sweet little girls, Marnie, Kelly, Laura and Tara dance on the tables until the early morning hours … but honestly, it was the highlight of our growing up years. We loved her parties!
It is no wonder her kids got so damned good at it.
Looking back, her children have come to fully realize, just what an amazing and special woman she truly was! She had a true passion for life. She was brave and confident. She had to be …
She was raising “three assholes” (that is in her own words) who were putting her to the test, daily. How she never got put in “the nuthouse” is something short of a miracle. She was so skilled at juggling her home and work life and it took constant effort to be a good wife, a great mother and a successful career woman.
But it was these choices, that gave her family a far better life.
She organized and coordinator her life in a way that most people would never begin to even imagine. She was THE BEST at doing Christmas and Easter holidays and her extra income allowed for her and Rudi to take the family on the fun summer holidays and really enjoy some of the luxuries, that many didn’t have.
She truly sacrificed so much and she was selfless when it came to the people that she loved most.
A long and successful career and a great homemaker. She continued on as Office Manager at Crown in the Lumber Division, for many more years and even when she got short-changed out of her pension, that didn’t stop her from bouncing right back and landing a new job downtown, at UNOCAL Oil at the age of 50 something. She really was brave!
She loved the working life, but it was to really to nobody’s surprise, when her grandbabies came along, that she knew she had found something far better. Yes … this was right in her wheel-house! She was something! ‘The Baby Whisperer’. She could swaddle any baby and she even got tiny baby Kelly, with the worst cholic ever, settled down to sleep every night. She always knew what to do to comfort them and make them coo, smile and laugh.
She outfitted these precious little humans to the nines too.
Even her name was unique! Not grandma, granny, nana … Nope.
It was “Honey” … That is what each one of them called her and she forever, will be known as Honey.
Honey was the most amazing and fun grandma. She sang and played and laughed and read to them and taught them so much. Mostly, how to be goofy. She loved those little guys so much. Taking them everywhere … the park, swimming, winter festivals, camping.
They could do no wrong. She was like their “ride or die” grandma. No matter what they did, she would always defend them. They were perfect in her eyes.
They could have come home after being suspended for beating up a kid at school and she would be like … “but were you the cutest one there?”
She loved to sing to them. “Skin-A-Ma Rinky Dink” and of course the old classic written and produced by Marg herself “Leap the Leap The Dodo,” She fondly nicknamed them all “Piss Ants” and who could forget her famous poetry recitals like, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Hobos and Tramps”, which will forever be engrained into their memories.
While she was still that younger, hot and hip, grandma, she and Rudi would take Kelly and Brad on some fun mini vacations. But … there was this one particular time, when Brad went off with them by himself, to the USA, for some shopping and then back to Garbutt’s Lake, so he could do a little fishing with Rudi. AND of course, when the fun relatives were there, it was bound to get a bit out of hand.
Well, Marg “the lightweight”, overindulged just a little, on the white wine. She stumbled back to the trailer and fell into bed. Rudi and Brad of course were sound asleep, when they heard this terrible racket. Rudi hollers “Marg, what the hell are your doing?” She says “I’m gonna be sick”, as she raced for the door. Well, she never made it and she barfed all over the stove. The next morning, being rather sheepish and very ashamed of her actions, she made Brad vow to never tell this story to anyone … “especially to his mother”. Funny thing, though, it was the very first story he proudly shared when he arrived home. He couldn’t wait to rat her out.
“Traitor” she yelled, laughingly and this became his new nickname, that stuck for quite some time, thereafter.
Her complete and utter lack of drinking skills and getting tipsy after only two or three drinks, was well known, to all that knew her. Her puking became somewhat of an art-form. Now back in the 70’s, driving under the influence was not as frowned upon as it is today. So, Rudi would be driving home from the party and she would holler “pull over, I’m gonna be sick”. Rudi, knowing that this may draw some negative attention of sorts, just kept driving. Well, low and behold, somehow, she managed to find a quick solution … well, so to speak. She barfed right in one of those fancy purses of her and then another time, dead aim - right into the large pocket of her most beautiful fur coat! It was innovative, we will give her that … BUT only, because she knew she would NEVER hear the end of it, if she actually got sick in Rudi’s car.
Underneath all her fun-loving ways and all that goofiness, Marg also had a serious side. She was the most incredibly smart person and she cared deeply about the people in her life. She was the epitome of giver. Over the years, she helped so many friends and relatives get through some of their tougher times. She literally did give others “the shirt off her back”. She was thoughtful and kind and highly intuitive and she was the other half of the glue that held this family together. She was the strongest support system for her children and grandchildren and we could never re-pay her for all that she has given to us.
She never let anyone go hungry. She took in more stray kids and relatives … which Rudi lovingly referred to as their “Star Boarders”.
Marg was as ‘true blue’, as they came. She was a remarkable woman, a great wife, the most wonderful mom, grandma and aunt and a loyal and life-long friend.
She was always smiling and boy, we are going to miss her like crazy.
Marg’s love of music ran deep down in her soul. She never stopped singing and dancing and she could yodel with the best of them.
The last several years of her life, she was badly afflicted with Alzheimer’s, the most debilitating and cruel disease, and it put forth every last ditched effort, to rob her of her past and the years of so many treasured memories that were tucked away in her mind, like cherished souvenirs.
But … at the end, it was the music that we sang and the songs we played for her … and with her … that made her so very happy, and it soothed her. She never forgot the words to the so many songs that she loved over the years.
The last years of Marg’s life, were extremely challenging but the last few weeks, she became coherent and she was so vividly clear in her mind, again, which gave us all great solace, in knowing that she remembered so many of the details of her past and this incredible and wonderful life that she had lived. She knew exactly just how much she loved us … as well as just how very much we loved and cherished her.
Tucked away in her mind, were STILL all of the best memories of a life ‘well lived’.
Marg, was predeceased by her parents, Neil and Ellen Cameron, her infant brother Neil Alexander, her sisters Cathy Cameron and Ann Weaver, her Auntie Lil, her nephew Shaun Trouesdale, her closest and special cousin May Ratcliffe and her cousins Wayne, Gordon and Cam Ratcliffe.
She was also predeceased in 2021, by her husband, Rudi Kralik, of 59 years. They always loved each other through thick and thin, even when they joked about their “love-hate” relationship. They were dedicated to each other and it was a good love and it was real love and it was fun … well mostly. They stuck together during the difficult times and their love was definitely put to the test on many occasions, particularly when Greg had his serious car accident. They persevered and they taught their kids about the importance of family and commitment.
Marg leaves behind her very favorite brother Don Cameron (Judy) as well as her sister-in -law Margaret Cook (who sadly, we have just learned, of her recent passing on April 19, 2022), her USA family, nieces, Sue Podolak and Allison Trouesdale, her nephew Ralph Weaver (Traci) along with so many more family and friends.
The people that will miss her the most; her first born son, Randy (Karen) her daughter, Sandra (Tom), her youngest son Greg (Janice) and her most prized and beloved possessions; her five incredible grandchildren; Kelly (Chris), Brad (Kelsey), Dayle-Marie (Ty), Darry and Chase, and her two ‘greatest of great’ grandchildren; her special boy Jamie and her sweetest of sweet girls, “sweet smiling”, Gracie, as well as her honorary grandson Tanner.
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A private Celebration of Marg’s Life will be held on Friday, April 29, 2022 at 2:00 pm at The Royal Canadian Legion Chapelhow Branch in Calgary, for her family and closest friends, where we will share some stories and listen to some of her favorite music, raise a glass in toast to honour Marg and to celebrate the life of this beautiful mountain girl that we all loved so dearly.