Margaret Mesits

Margaret Mesits (née Berényi) wife of the late Ferenc Mesits; beloved mother to Margaret (Ronald) Rye and Marika (Peter) Smythe; beloved Nagymama to Laura (Nik), Patricia (James), Amanda (Ryan); and loving great-grandmother to Darrion, Jaxson, and Ryelan.

Margaret (Margit) was born April 10, 1924, in Lócs, a village in Vas County, Hungary.

She escaped Hungary with her husband in May of 1949 during the Soviet occupation and gave birth to Margaret two months later in a D.P. camp in Linz, Austria. After two years in the camp, they emigrated to Montreal, Quebec, where later Marika was born. Margaret was widowed at the age of forty-three and missed her husband immensely.

A tremendously hard worker, Margaret undertook every task enthusiastically and meticulously. She attended cooking school at the age of fifteen and was a superb cook and baker. In Montreal, she worked as a kindergarten teacher and later as an assistant pastry chef. She worked tirelessly, sometimes three jobs at a time, to provide for her family. She was a quick study, and, in our eyes, there was nothing she couldn’t tackle.

For many years, she was a driving force in the Ladies Auxiliary at Our Lady of Hungary Church in Montreal and later at St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in Calgary, where she was so fond of singing in the choir. She often said that her years in Calgary were some of the happiest times she had known, mostly because of the many rich friendships she established here, being able to spend more time enjoying her family, and the freedom she finally achieved by retiring early. We will remember her energy, her smile, her bravery, her endurance, and her remarkable zest for life.

Our family would like to thank Dr. Sumar and the staff on unit Hillhurst East at Brentwood Care Centre for being so kind to our mother, especially Zainab, Gurdeep, Wagma, Navneet, Kabira, Juliana, Faith, Collette, Aster, and Chelsea.

Thank you, beloved Mami, dearest Nagyi, for everything. We will love you forever!

A Funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church (1307 14 St. SW) on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at 2:00 pm. Inurnment to follow at Sacred Heart Columbarium.