Obituary of Marjorie Edna Carroll-Nelson
1932 - 2020
With great sadness, the family of Marjorie Carroll-Nelson announces her peaceful passing at the Village at University Gates in Waterloo Ontario on Thursday, October 22, 2020, at the age of 88 years.
Born on October 8, 1932 to Bert and Nora Monk of Bentinck Township (Elmwood), Marjorie was the youngest of four children. Her siblings are Courtney Monk (passed in 1980), Audree Riepert (passed in 2014), and Helen Ahrens of Hanover.
Marjorie chose nursing as a first career and attended the Kitchener-Waterloo School of Nursing (now Grand River Hospital), graduating in 1953. In 1959 she also completed a Degree in Public Health Nursing from the University of Western Ontario. During these years and until 1962, she worked in Kitchener and then Toronto, in many nursing capacities including helping care for polio patients, doing home visits, and assisting in obstetrics with births.
Marjorie married Glenn Carroll of Mitchell in 1954, and they had two daughters, Trudy Carroll (1962-2015) and Kathleen D’Elia of Belmont, California. Marjorie and Glenn (a business professor at WLU) were both passionate about their careers, travelling, curling, dancing, socializing, and family, and were married for forty-five years at the time of Glenn’s passing in 1999.
In 1974 Marjorie ran for council in the city of Waterloo and served in this capacity for two and a half years. In 1977 when the then-Mayor resigned, Marjorie was voted in as the Mayor of Waterloo. She proudly served in this position for eleven years, as the first female mayor of the city, and still-to-this-day the longest serving mayor in the city’s history. After serving as Mayor, Marjorie became Chair of the K-W Hospital Foundation from 1989 until 1992 to help raise much-needed funds for the hospital. She also worked full time as a consultant at the Waterloo Management Education Centre and assisted with authoring important federal legislation.
Marjorie received a LLD honourary degree from the University of Waterloo in 1982, and was presented with the Honourary Shield from Conestoga College. She is the recipient of the Canadian Legion Friendship Award and the Region of Waterloo’s Jack Young Civic Award. In 1987 the outdoor plaza at the new Waterloo City Centre was named after her. And in 2004, the newly renovated childbirth centre at Grand River Hospital was renamed the Marjorie Carroll Childbirth Centre. That same year, Conestoga College named a nursing school lecture hall in her honour. In 2013, Carroll was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, given to select Canadians to honour their significant contributions and achievements.
Other organizations she volunteered for included the Ontario Council of Health, K-W YWCA Women’s Residences, YWCA’s Club 84, the Canadian Federation of University Women, Elmira Kiwanis Club, and the Probus Club.
Marjorie was also loved by sons-in-law Don D’Elia of Belmont, CA, Jon Platt (Debbie) of Elmira, Greg Wynne (passed in 2010), and Trudy’s partner at the time of Trudy’s death, John Clayton of Ayr. Adoring grandchildren include Kyle Platt (Alex) of Waterloo, Zack Platt (Angie) of Kitchener, Erica, Brie, Julia and Michael Wynne of Belmont, CA, Will D’Elia of San Carlos, CA, and Genevieve Clayton of Ayr.
In 2005, Marjorie met and married Robert ‘Bob’ Nelson, a retired Waterloo Region Police Officer. These were such happy years for Marjorie, and sadly, Bob passed away in 2007. As a result of this second marriage, Marjorie now was blessed with a large extended family, and is remembered fondly by them, including David Nelson and Debbie Little of Waterloo, Scott and Cheryl Nelson of Heidelberg, and Greg and Sue Nelson of Waterloo along with their families. And from Bob’s second marriage, remembered warmly by John and Mary Ulmer of Kanata, Jane Huck and the late Peter Huck (2020) of Kitchener, and Joe Ulmer and Cathy Miehm of Kitchener, along with their families.
In her elder years, Marjorie lived at the Luther Village Sunshine Centre and then moved to The Village at University Gates in 2018.
Carroll was a lover of music, piano-playing, reading, doing crossword puzzles, and an avid clipper of newspaper articles that interested her. She was also a die-hard Blue Jays fan. Her most beloved place of all was her lakefront Southampton cottage that she owned from 1978 until 2018, with her favourite
time of day being sunset, when raising a glass of beer or wine out front, her dear next-door neighbor Bob would call out, “is that any good!”
Cheers to Marjorie, a mom, sister, aunt, cousin, grandma, friend, and colleague. We trust that she has moved on to the next big social event with loved ones who passed on before her, and that she is watching over all of us.
Special thanks go to the Administration and Staff in the Pollock Unit at University Gates. Your kind and caring ways with Mom over the last two years have been so appreciated by our family. And to the many care workers that have helped Mom over the past years.
As a former nurse with a “first love” of healthcare, Marjorie would not want anyone risking their health to have a small funeral. Her pre-covid-19 wishes were to have a grand funeral at her beloved First United Church, and a “levee-style” party at the Delta Waterloo. As such, at this time, the immediate family will hold a small interment ceremony at Parkview Cemetery in Waterloo, and will wait until Marjorie’s many friends, family and past colleagues can come together as a large group to properly celebrate her life in a grand manner.
Condolences for the family and donations to Grand River Hospital Foundation may be arranged by contacting the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or 519.745.8445.
