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Margaret Macwaters (née Thomas) was born in Bradford https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford, England, August 7, 1929 to Alfred Thomas and Alice Emily Sugden Thomas (Clarke). She died on September 14th, 2015 at the age of 86 years. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ottawacitizen/obituary.aspx?pid=175867828 Her major contribution was in the field of Scottish Country Dancing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_country_dance

Early Years Marriage Scottish Country Dancing Awards and Honours Final Years

Early Years

Margaret was born in Bradford, England, August 7, 1929. She was one of five children born to Alfred Thomas and Alice Emily Sugden Thomas (Clarke. The family were all involved in the war effort of WWII. Young Margaret wanted ballet lessons, but there were few ballet masters to be found in England during war time.

Margaret finished school and took up nursing. When she was not on duty, she went to local dances. There she met Alexander Macwaters, known as Alec to his friends.

Marriage

In 1952, she took a boat from England to what was then known as British Guiana, now Guyana, in South America. She and Alec were married on December 3rd, 1952.

The couple honeymooned in Barbados, then moved to Niagara Falls, Ontario, then Kingston, Jamaica, then back to Niagara Falls, Ontario, and settled in Ottawa, Ontario in 1961. In 1962, they purchased a home in the west end of Ottawa, where they stayed for the next two decades. One of the more desirable features of this home was a large, long, finished basement, ideal for dancing.

Scottish Country Dancing

Early in her marriage, before she had children, Margaret became involved in Scottish Country Dancing. She took her Preliminary and Full Certificates, and was a life-time member of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society (RSCDS) by 1962.

There were classes in Ottawa, but there was not a formal Branch. In 1966, Margaret and her friend Eric Clyde, another teacher, co-founded the Ottawa Branch of the RSCDS. http://rscdsottawa.ca/ They built an organization that taught weekly classes at the beginner, intermediate, advanced and children’s levels. They put out a monthly Bulletin to all members. They fielded a demonstration team. Margaret taught the two-year course known as teacher candidates, to those who wished to join the swelling ranks of teachers. They organized annual weekend workshops, demonstrations, monthly dances and an annual ball.

Having organized Ottawa, she moved on to help found Branches in Kingston http://www.rscdskingston.org/ and classes in Renfrew.

Over the next fifty years, Margaret continued to teach, dance, and promote the organization. She traveled across Canada and through parts of the United States as a guest teacher. In keeping with the RSCDS philosophy, neither she nor any of the other teachers were ever paid, doing what they did for the love of the dance.

Fifty years after she and her friend Eric Clyde co-founded the Ottawa branch of the RSCDS, it was still going strong and she was still involved, if only behind the scenes. http://rscdsottawa.ca/bulletins/March-2016-bulletin.pdf She taught her last class at age 80, although she continued to attend classes for fun and friendship.

Awards and Honours

In 1988, Margaret received the Scroll of Honour of the RSCDS in recognition of her dedication to promoting Scottish Country Dancing.https://www.rscds.org/article/member-recognition

1992, Margaret received a 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal, awarded to Canadians who were deemed to have made a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, to their community, or to Canada. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/125th_Anniversary_of_the_Confederation_of_Canada_Medal

She has one dance named for her, Mrs. Margaret Macwaters, composed by her friend, Ron Arrowsmith. http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/4789/

She stopped teaching at age 80, but remained active in the branch activities until shortly before her death. http://rscdsottawa.ca/branch-documents/ballorderform2016.pdf Her choices continued to influence Ottawa dancers after her death. https://www.facebook.com/rscdsottawa

Final Years

Margaret was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, Alec, by five years. Within a year, she was diagnosed with a tumour in her spinal cord, which pressed on her nerve endings and made her lose sensation in her hands and feet. That finally put an end to her dancing career. She died on September 14, 2015, at the age of 86.

A celebration of life service was held at the Pinecrest Remembrance Chapel, 2500 Baseline Road on Sunday, September 20, 2015. Over 120 people attended, telling stories about her for over two and a half hours. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/ottawacitizen/obituary.aspx?pid=175867828#sthash.03AYN6ZZ.dpuf