Margaret Ann Jay's Obituary
Margaret Jay was born on March 30, 1932, in Nanaimo, British Columbia to Elsie and Henry Quan, the second child after her brother Art and before sister Elizabeth and brothers Gilbert and Doug. As a girl, Margaret played and worked on her grandfather’s farm and enjoyed riding her bike in the summers. The family later moved to Vancouver, where as a teenager, Margaret loved beach parties and dance clubs.It was in Vancouver where she met Lawrence “Ray” Jay, whom she married in 1952. The couple raised a large family of six children: three girls, three boys. Ray’s career as a professional engineer took the family to several cities around Canada and the United States, and they eventually settled in San Mateo, California.With a penchant for fashion design and a keen eye for style, Margaret enjoyed designing her own patterns and sewing her own clothes. She loved to work and play with her hands and was skilled not only in her needlework, but talented at playing the piano and toiling in the garden, which showed in her love for plants of all types. She also enjoyed baking, cooking, good food, bowling, trips to the casino for Pai gow, a juicy soap opera, and socializing with friends. Curious about life and learning, she continued her education well into her senior years, making Deans’ lists and regularly recounting and pulling from her lessons for conversations.Those who will miss Margaret most, along with her loving husband Ray, include her children, Diana, Darrel, Lawrence, Cheryl, and Angela, her grandchildren Trisha, Jolene, and Jason and her great-granddaughter, Caitlyn, along with countless other family members. She will be reunited with her youngest child, Michael, who left us early.
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