Rev. Marian Elizabeth Raynard
Perpetual peace is now with her – Rev. Marian Elizabeth Raynard passed away on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021 at the Hospice of Niagara Region in St. Catharines. She was in her 60th year.
Born in Wingham on Oct. 5, 1962, Marian is survived by her mother Norma, siblings Glenn (Donna), Belgrave; Mae and Brock, 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 and Donald Murray, Lillian and Russel Irvin, Ruth and 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 a 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 United Kingdom 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 she was 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, 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, Oct. 14 and on Friday, Oct. 15 with a private graveside service and interment following at Greenhill Cemetery, Lucknow. A public celebration of Marian’s life will be held at Camp Kintail on Monday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m. Please RSVP on the funeral home website if wishing to attend.
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. www.mackenzieandmccreath.com