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Dr. Margaret Hansen-des Groseilliers’ cheerful greeting of fellow Rotarians at weekly club meetings and other events was always welcomed. The gesture came easily to her because she shared with these other members an enthusiasm for Rotary and its ideals for community service, the reason she joined the Rotary Club of Ottawa in 1993, later becoming its first female president. Margaret died on June 11, 2020 from cancer. Born in Saskatoon and raised in a northern Manitoba farming community with her three siblings, Margaret studied optometry in Toronto, where she also met her future husband, Dr. Roland des Groseilliers, also a Rotarian. After marrying, they settled in Ottawa sharing an optometric practice and raising three daughters. Margaret loved practicing optometry, but retirement after 42 years gave her the chance to explore her many other interests, such as travelling. Early in her professional career she went to the James Bay region to supervise a vision clinic. She continued to see more of the world because of Roland’s work with the World Council of Optometry (WCO), including its presidency. In winter, Margaret and Roland were Canadian snowbirds in Tubac, Arizona. As a Rotarian, Margaret’s abundant energy helped to build and support Rotary’s goals. In addition to the club’s presidency in 1998, she chaired the Rotary Club of Ottawa’s annual Adventures in Citizenship program, hosted international high school students participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program, chaired the Board of the Ottawa Rotary Home, and supported countless Rotary projects all around the world. As a “Visiting Rotarian” with a Tubac club, she actively participated in an “End Polio Now” campaign in Hermosillo, Mexico. She called her Rotary service “rewarding.” Margaret left a parting message to family, friends and colleagues: “Please don’t dwell on my leaving. Instead, think about the happy times we shared; plant a tree in my memory; enjoy a Three Rivers Cocktail; serve your community in the best way you can and, if you are fortunate enough to do so, choose your own final adventure at the end of this long and wonderful road called life.” Margaret is survived by her husband Roland and their daughters: Dr. Danielle Staresinic (Charles and their children Amelia, Alex, Juliet and Edward), Manon (Hope Celani and their son Henry) and Jennifer (her children Thomas, Connor, Kegan and Abigail Laurie Rose). Plus, her many friends in Rotary, in Ottawa and around the world. Memorial donations may be made to The Ottawa Rotary Home Foundation; the Rotary Club of Ottawa Children’s Foundation; the Canadian Optometric Education Trust Fund (COETF); and the University of Waterloo Alumni Fund. |