Margaret Heffernan

Our mother Margaret Heffernan passed away peacefully in her sleep on Sunday, June 8, 2025 in Saskatoon. She is survived by daughter Mona Potter (Ross), and sons Dan (Randi), Kevin (Alice), Jim, and daughter-in-law Kim, grandchildren Jamie, Crystal, Caitlin, Porter, Erin, Kaylee, Sean, and Leanne, and seven great-grandchildren, as well as numerous beloved nieces, nephews and in-laws. Margaret was pre-deceased by husband Bill, and son Patrick. Mom made friends easily, and her life was enriched by many friendships, including those she made during her years at Luther Tower, which she remembered with special fondness.

Margaret was born on February 17, 1928, to Ernest and Bridget Morrell in Saskatoon. She married Bill Heffernan in August 1948, and she and Bill quickly left the big city, moving initially to the Rosetown area, and a few years later to Nipawin. In Nipawin both Margaret and Bill taught at the high school. Along the way they had five sometimes unruly children. In 1969, as the first three of those children were about to head to university, Margaret and Bill turned their lives upside down, said goodbye to a decade of friends, and moved to Saskatoon. In Saskatoon Margaret was many things, briefly a landlord and teacher, before working in retail at Canadian Tire where she sold everything from cleaning fluids to hunting equipment and lawnmowers, admitting later in life that she didn't really know anything about any of them.

For many years mom was an avid gardener, with a huge backyard garden in Nipawin. Although she loved to get her hands dirty, something she probably learned in her father's gladiola garden as a child, she often recruited her squad of family teenagers to do the weeding. She had to temper her love of dirt when the family moved to Saskatoon, with a smaller yard and less teenager availability. She carried this love with her into her nineties, at ever shrinking scale, and ultimately enjoyed it through walks among her neighbours' garden plots at Luther Tower. She was always excited when those neighbours, or sons Jim and Dan, would share the fruits of their gardening efforts with her.

At Luther Tower she rediscovered a love of reading and jigsaw puzzles, until her arthritis told her it was time to ditch the puzzles and find another pastime. She was never a big sports fan but, surprisingly, late in life she discovered the joy and heartbreak of being a Roughrider fan, and what "next year" meant when someone in a green jersey said it. Perhaps it was her Tower neighbours.

Mom never seemed to tire of telling us how proud she was of us. She was always our champion. That pride easily opened its arms and embraced spouses, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. One of her greatest joys was sorting through hundreds of photos that we had all shared with her through the years.

Late in life she would say "I'm ready. I've been fortunate and I've had a good life. If God comes for me, I'm ready." We're proud of you too mom. Thank you for staying with us as long as you did. We love you and we'll miss you.

A private family gathering to honour Margaret and share memories will be held at a later date.