Obituary of Margaret Craik

Margaret Craik was born in April 1935 in Kenaston, Saskatchewan to Don and Betty Spaidal. She was the third oldest child of seven children. Margaret attended school in Young, Lavoy, Aylsham, Codette and completed her grade 12 in Nipawin. Her dad was an elevator agent for Pioneer Grain so they moved around Sk. and AB. After graduation, Margaret worked at the Bank of Nova Scotia in Codette as a teller. This is where she met the love of her life Allan Craik. They were married August 24, 1956 in the Knox United Church in Codette. Margaret and Allan made their home on the Craik family farm in Lost River for their entire married life. They were blessed with a daughter, Gayle in 1958, and son Jim in 1962. After Allan’s passing in 2013, Margaret moved to a condo in Nipawin and for the past two years had been a resident at Smeaton North Haven and Carrot River Care Home. Margaret helped Allan with the farming. She drove the old Massey combine, which was open air no cab. She would be bundled in as many clothes as she could get on to keep warm on the cold windy days and nights. She was a town girl, so moving to the farm brought along lots of new learning curves. Margaret mastered milking the cows, feeding the pigs, and raised many chickens (even though she was terrified of birds of any kind). She did lots of canning from their garden, helped with the butchering and always saw that the cookie jar was full. Margaret and Allan spent many winters working at logging camps in Hixon and Fort St. John. When Gayle and Jim became school age, Margaret taught them school by correspondence for many of those winters. As the children got older, she stayed home on the farm and took care of the livestock while Allan was away at work. They continued to farm until Allan’s retirement. Margaret and Allan built a new cabin at Lower Fishing Lake where they spent many days with family, grandchildren, other relatives and friends. This was her happy place. She loved to sit on the deck watching everyone out on the water including her own family and her lake neighbors. She spent lots of time reading and resting her eyes while sitting on the deck taking in the rays of the sun! Margaret enjoyed all the family reunions and catching up on what everyone was doing. She enjoyed having visitors on the farm, at the lake, or later at the condo. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren always brought a smile to her face and a twinkle in her eye when they spent time with her. Margaret enjoyed reading whether it was the newspaper, book or any other mail. Allan always joked about her reading every piece of mail from start to finish. She enjoyed knitting, embroidery, quilting, word search, and adult coloring. Margaret was a member of the Elkhorn Ladies Club for many years. She enjoyed her condo life where she made new friends and reconnected with old friends. She served on the social committee helping plan the suppers and seasonal decorating. Margaret is predeceased by her husband Allan; her parents Don and Betty Spaidal; and her sisters, Eleanor and Jean. She is survived by her daughter Gayle (Rodger) Hiebert; son Jim (Shelly) Craik; her grandchildren Shane (Michelle), Nadine (Larson) Flynn, Travis (Stephanie) Craik; great-grandchildren Jake and Merrick Hiebert; brothers Don, and Wayne; sisters Helen and Marjorie; and many nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.