Morag Buchanan

In Memory of Morag Buchanan

It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of our beloved Morag Buchanan, cherished mother, grandmother, wife, sister, and friend. She is forever loved by her son Ryan, her deceased husband Don, her siblings Sheila and Graham, her granddaughters Maya, Hannah, Olive, and Elle, and her dear friends. Morag was born on March 14, 1946, just outside of Dundee, Scotland. She, her mother Mable, and Sheila emigrated to Canada in 1951, crossing the Atlantic to the East Coast before taking a train to British Columbia. Her father, William, joined them in the Dunbar area of Vancouver where her brother, Graham was born. The three siblings were raised in a loving, bustling home where friends would often gather after school. She attended the Prince of Wales Secondary school where she met her husband, Don. After graduating from high school, Morag went to college to become a court stenographer and began her career in the Cranbrook courthouse. She and Don married in 1969. The two loved to travel, venturing as far as to Australia and Europe. Later, she and Don settled in Prince George, where they raised their son, Ryan. Don passed away in 2013. Morag lived in Prince George until moving to Smithers in 2021, where she was dutifully cared for at the Bulkley Lodge until her passing.

Morag was effervescent and had enduring curiosity. She was excited to try anything and everything, whether that be new food, watching a new film, or learning about a new perspective. She could tell you about every restaurant in town, where she had undoubtedly ordered the most exciting meal off the menu. She loved to travel to new and old places, from road tripping with her friends to California, visiting family in Scotland, and trips to Australia and Hawaii with Don and later, Ryan.

She was passionate about the arts, volunteering with the Cold Snap music festival and faithfully attending the Prince George Symphony Orchestra. She fostered a close-knit community at the St. Giles church in Prince George, just a stone’s throw from her home on Edmonton Street.

As an avid reader, she was a keen member of her book club, and a frequenter of the public library and Books & Company. She shared this love for reading with her son and granddaughters, fostering in them a love for the magical world of books.

Morag had a special relationship with her dog, Shakespeare. The two were connected at the hip, with Morag often braving the cold Prince George deep freezes to make sure he got his walks in.

Those who knew Morag will member her for her spirit and zest for life. She generously shared every part of herself from the stories she carried to the books, colourful clothes, and jewelry she collected throughout her life. She was chatty, sparking conversation with everyone she encountered. There was no corner of Prince George she could venture to without bumping into someone she knew. Her life was sustained and invigorated by her relationships with her dear friends, among many of whom were in ‘the Breakfast Broads.’

We, her family, will remember her as a caring mother, wife and grandmother. I write this tribute as the eldest of Morag’s four granddaughters and cannot overstate how special it was to have

Morag as my grandma. I looked forward to our weekend visits to Prince George, where we’d eat sushi or Vietnamese food, peruse Value Village, visit the library (she’d let me take out as many books out on her card as I wanted), and spend hours talking and laughing on her floral ‘chesterfields’ as she called them. Her love for us was shown in so many ways: she would have episodes of television recorded that she thought we would like to watch, have fresh grapes and strawberries waiting in the fruit bowl, and don our room with a sign ‘Granddaughters only’ in anticipation of each visit. Since I was little, the voicemail message on her landline ended with “and if this is Maya or Hannah, we love you!”

Morag seemed to always want to make the most out of life, and had a striking ability to make the most ordinary of moments feel special. She leaves behind a fiery and loving void in the lives of many, and at the same time her spirit and love will endure amongst all of us who knew and love her.

A celebration of Morag’s life will be held at St. Giles Presbyterian in Prince George on Friday June 12th at 11am. We invite you to arrive in colourful clothing, as Morag would have. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Bulkley Valley Health Care and Hospital Foundation.

To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of Morag Buchanan, please visit our Tree Store.