SUSAN JAMIESON MORRISON
(nee Galloway)
June 1, 1930 - August 4, 2020
With great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved Mom and Granny at Tuxedo Villa, Winnipeg, at the age of 90. After a lengthy struggle with Alzheimer’s, she was admitted to Victoria General Hospital in late May, where she made many friends among the compassionate health care workers on the Fourth Floor North, before transitioning to long-term care. Susan is predeceased by her husband Bill and her brothers Jimmy and William, and siblings-in-law Ethel and Bob. She is dearly missed by daughter Fiona and son-in-law Mel; grandchildren Lauren (Simon) and Nathan (Michelle), who were her pride and joy; beloved great-grandchildren Harvey and Frances; siblings Ella, Alec (Mary), Andrea (Stuart), Edward (Lorna), and Jean (Tommy), all residing in Scotland; sister-in-law Helen and much-loved niece Joy (Stu) and nephew David, great-niece Sian (Darrell, son Grayson), and great-nephew Nolan (Marr, daughter Arya), as well as a large extended family and many friends of all ages.
Susan was born in Glasgow and grew up in Buchlyvie, Stirlingshire. In 1957 her husband Bill and brother William emigrated to Canada, with Susan and Fiona following a year later. The two families relied on each other and shared everything during those first difficult years braving a new country and climate.
After 14 years in Winnipeg, Susan and Bill moved to Carman, where they owned and operated the Ryall Hotel along with fellow Scots Sandy and Bunty Beattie. There they made a great many friends. From 1978 their wandering feet took them out west to Comox and Victoria on Vancouver Island, and to Peachland, Kelowna, and Summerland in the Okanagan, before finally returning to Winnipeg in 1996 to be closer to family. Their home became a hub for gatherings of family and friends, and Lauren and Nathan often brought their university pals over for dinner with Granny. She welcomed both grandchildren to stay with her during university summers or between apartments. Fiona and Mel moved into Susan’s house in 2015 as her dementia progressed, which allowed her to stay in her own home as long as possible, which was so important to her.
Susan thrived on social connection and made friends wherever she went; a true social butterfly. She could and would carry on a lengthy conversation with anyone and everyone she encountered. She loved her jobs at Sears Ladies’ Department (she often reminisced about starting work at Sears on its opening day at Polo Park shopping centre), the University of Manitoba Surplus Store, and numerous drug store/post offices and restaurants, due to their social nature, and remained a consummate and unrelenting hostess all her life.
Her sweet tooth was unparalleled, with Tunnocks Snowballs and ice cream topping her list of favourites, and she wasn’t happy unless you were partaking as well; saying no was futile.
She was always singing a tune or humming along to music, and her love of dancing goes back to the village dance halls of Scotland - always first on the floor, last off. In later years she took up square dancing where, typically lacking enough male dancers, she would happily don pants and a bolo tie and take the lead.
She loved her dogs over the years: boxer Chopper, dachshund Daisy, and miniature dachshund (also) Daisy.
Susan was a longtime member of The Order of the Eastern Star, participated in auxiliary ladies’ groups throughout Bill’s years as a Shriner, and she joined Pembina Active Living and square danced with the Whirlaway Westerners in later years.
Although so far away from her Scottish clan, Susan always stayed in close contact with her family, making several trips “back home” and hosting Scottish visitors in Winnipeg almost yearly. All eight Galloway siblings were last together in Scotland for niece Lousie’s wedding in 2002, and 7 surviving brothers and sisters gathered again in 2015 in Manitoba for grandson Nathan’s wedding.
According to Susan’s wishes, cremation has taken place and, due to COVID-19, a private Celebration of Life will be held at the family home. Our family extends heartfelt thanks to the staff and doctors at Victoria General Hospital (4N) where Susan quickly became a favourite patient, and to the staff at Tuxedo Villa (Stn 2), for their care and kindness.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, from which they received a bounty of care during Bill’s struggle with lung cancer in 2000 and during Susan’s battle with breast cancer in 2004.