Margaret Annie Longstaff

Margaret (Peggy) Longstaff was born in 1924, third in a family of ten children of Eva Blair and Stanley Giles. The family lived in McGregor, Manitoba. Since times were difficult for most people in her generation, Margaret’s mother always emphasized the importance of bettering one’s lot in life through education. Margaret took that encouragement to heart, and completed a Fine Arts degree in the University of Manitoba on scholarship, at a time when university was not always easily accessible to young women. After graduation, she became a teacher, working in several rural Manitoba schools before taking a position in Cardale. There, she met her future husband, William Longstaff. They married in 1949 and settled near Cardale on the Longstaff family farm.

Over the next eleven years, they had five children: Richard (1953-2024), Alison (1954), Bruce(1956-1976), Roy (1958), and Don (1960). Though not originally from a farming background, Margaret rapidly took to rural life and applied her administration, math and other skills to help run the family farm. As the children grew, farming was modernizing and becoming more profitable and became a way of life for several of their children.

Margaret’s vegetable garden and superb cooking skills were big contributions to the family and farm, supplying an abundance of preserves for the winter months. This represented hours of work. Over the years her huge vegetable garden morphed into a just-as-huge flower garden, to the delight of many friends who came calling. She was a sociable person who enjoyed having visitors and meeting up with people in the community. In the 1970s, Margaret and her husband became members of the Gospel Hall in Brandon, where they grew in their Christian faith and shared it with others. They both remained faithful to their beliefs until the end.

An avid reader, Margaret never lost her interest in learning, and despite her 101 and a half years, never lost her ability to understand and judge the quality of what she was reading, be it religious, political, or popular fiction. She especially liked historical themes.

Margaret stayed in her home on the farm for several years after the passing of her husband in 2017. At the age of 100, she went to live in personal care. She passed away peacefully at Minnedosa Personal Care Home after a very brief illness. The family would like to extend thanks to the staff for their care and concern for her.

Margaret is survived by three children (Don, Roy and Alison), and seven grandchildren.

A service will take place on Friday, April 17, 2026 at Memories Chapel – 330 18th Street North Brandon, MB beginning at 1:30 p.m.