Cemetery:
Greenhill Cemetery, Lucknow, ON
Place of Death
Hospice Niagara, St. CatharinesObituary
Perpetual peace is now with her – Reverend Marian Elizabeth Raynard passed away on Thursday, October 7, 2021 at the Hospice of Niagara Region in St. Catharines in her 60th year.Born in Wingham on October 5, 1962, Marian is survived by her mother Norma, siblings Glenn (Donna) of Belgrave, Mae and Brock of West Wawanosh, her nephews Trevor (Emily) Raynard, Curtis Raynard and Craig (Bethan) Raynard, niece Heidi Raynard (Isaac Baker) and their daughters Kinsley and Kiera, and her uncles Doug (Mary Lou) Raynard and Chris Raynard and several cousins. Marian's memory will also be cherished by her godson Gedeon, son of Monika Bereczki-Farkas and Istvan Farkas. She was predeceased by her father Bruce in 2019, her grandparents Cliff and Frances Murray and Nelson and Clara Raynard, and aunts and uncles Dorothy & Donald Murray, Lillian & Russel Irvin, Ruth & Fred Shropshall and Patricia Raynard.
Marian was proud to be the daughter of farmers, and was an enthusiastic global ambassador for her home village of Lucknow. The first badge sewn onto her Brownie uniform became a lifelong commitment to camping, learning, and leadership with Girl Guides of Canada. The first Bible verses Marian learned at the Lucknow Presbyterian Church seeded a life in service to Christian ministry. In her college days, Marian worked at Camp Kintail, a Presbyterian Church camp near Goderich on Lake Huron, and the spirit of that place and its beach rocks and sunsets always drew her back.
After graduation from Centralia College, Marian worked for Wingham and District Community Living as a counsellor and manager of residential services. In 1993, Marian became domestic supervisor for the Iona Community, an ecumenical retreat centre on the island of Iona, Scotland. Marian loved island life and greeting the thousands of visitors to the centre each year. She was part of Iona’s Wild Goose choral group that travelled around the UK to perform at worship services.
Returning to Canada in 1996, Marian began a demanding pursuit of education leading to her graduation from Tyndale University College with a Bachelor of Religious Education in 2004 and from Knox College, University of Toronto with a Masters of Divinity in 2012. She was ordained as a minister of word and sacraments in the Presbyterian Church in Canada in September 2012.
For eight years while a student in ministry, she served the Ashfield and Ripley pastoral charge, and as an ordained minister, she served the St. John’s (Pittsburgh) and Sand Hill pastoral charge near Kingston and the North Pelham and Rockway pastoral charge in Niagara Region. Marian’s manse mouser, her cat Sally, was always in residence.
Marian created a circle of grace and hospitality wherever she went in the world. She was keen to know everyone’s story, with a great memory for faces, names and connections. While a patient in an operating room in Kingston, she discovered the university friendship between her surgeon and one of Marian’s high school friends. She loved the adventure of travel, and she never took the same road twice to a destination because “how are you going to know what’s new if you do that?” Every talent and resource Marian had she put into the service of caring for others. To be a friend of Marian’s was to be celebrated with a generous smile and hug and cards and flowers on days of joy and supported with limitless compassion and the practical application of tea, cheese and crackers in the darkest hours.
Diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2016, Marian faced health issues with courage, wry humour and more than occasionally, ice cream.
Visitation was held from the MacKenzie & McCreath Funeral Home, Lucknow on Thursday October 14, 2021 from 2-4 and 7-9 PM and on Friday October 15, 2021 from 7-9 PM. A private graveside service and interment was conducted at Greenhill Cemetery, Lucknow.
A public celebration of Marian’s life will be held at Camp Kintail (85153 Bluewater Hwy, Goderich) on Monday November 1, 2021 at 2 PM. Please sign up below if planning to attend. A zoom link will also be provided below prior to the service for anyone wishing to view the service online.
In lieu of flowers, Marian requested memorial donations be considered for Ovarian Cancer Canada, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, or Community Harvest to support the needs of others.
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