Obituary of Mabel Fitz-Randolph

On November 17, 2013 at the Carleton Kirk Lodge, Mabel Rebecca (McCluskey) Fitz-Randolph passed away at 100 years of age. Born October 27, 1913 at South Musquash to the late Royal Norvil (Roy) and Minnie (Penny) McCluskey, she was the third eldest of 11 children and the last surviving member of her immediate family. When she was 14, her mother died and with the help of her two older brothers, she raised her younger siblings. At 18, she married the love of her life, Albert Fitz-Randolph, and they had nearly 46 years together until his passing in 1977. Mabel’s interests were many and varied, but her favourites were history, genealogy, gardening, art and needlework. She loved to design and hook rugs and crochet one-of-a-kind snowflake ornaments. Her sketchbook and paintings are family treasures. Fascinated with local history, she knew the ancestry of everyone around, and even in her 100th year, was sought out by many far and near, seeking out their family trees. She loved to collect and dress her amazing doll collection. Early in life she was interested in politics. For many years she was elected trustee for the South Musquash School District 10, also serving as its secretary. She was custodian for the South Musquash School which she saw go on to become the Musquash Recreation Center, of which she was a founder and its first treasurer. Along with her mother-in-law, Nellie Fitz-Randolph, she served as a post mistress of the Gooseberry Cove Post Office until its closure in 1946. She especially loved the community of South Musquash itself. She adopted the little South Musquash Baptist Church, seeing to its upkeep and maintaining the cemetery surrounding. Mabel was very actively involved in the establishment of the Musquash Estuary Marine Protected Area, and in recognition received the Province of NB’s highest Environmental Leadership Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Always a caretaker of nature, she turned over a large portion of the family acreage to the Nature Conservancy of Canada “so our great-great grandchildren will know what a tree looks like”. Through the years she belonged to many organizations; Fundy Bay Senior Citizens Club (Charter Member), Women’s Auxiliary NB Museum, NB Historical Society, Citizens of Fort LaTour, Spruce Lake W.I. (Life Member), Woman of St. Anne’s Church (Musquash), Coleson Cove Liaison Committee, Lancaster Liberal Assn., Irish Society of NB, NB United Empire Loyalist Society, Friends of Musquash MPA, for which she designed their logo, a standing great blue heron; Canadian Wartime Heritage Museum (Andrew Mynarski Lancaster Bomber) and was honorary Deputy Fire Chief of the Musquash Volunteer Fire Dept. Besides her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her brothers Walter, Leonard, Elmer, Allan, infant Roy, Albert, Edward (Dick) and Reginald and sisters Nettie Gamble and Joyce. She is survived by her daughters Helen Marie Tremblay (the late Maurice), Marguerite “Midge” Thompson (Robert) and Charlotte Fitz-Randolph McCluskey (Tom Breau); Grandchildren Louise (Ron) Kovar, Robert (Barbara “Ginger”) Tremblay, David (Susan) Tremblay, Douglas (Loredana) Tremblay, Daniel Tremblay and Granddaughter- in-law Debra Wilde Tremblay. Great grandchildren; Ellen, Stephanie and A.J. Kovar, Sylvie Tremblay, Marshall and Timothy (Chelsey) Tremblay, Matteo, Milena, Dino, Sofia and Sylvio Tremblay, and Lindsay and Amy Tremblay, and many nieces and nephews. Resting at Castle Funeral Home, 309 Lancaster Ave., Saint John, NB, E2M 2L3. Visitation will take place Tuesday, November 19, 2013 from 6-8pm and Wednesday, November 20, 2013 from 2-4pm and 6-8pm. A Funeral Service will be held Thursday, November 21, 2013 from the Castle “Fallsview” Chapel at 1pm. Interment will take place at the South Musquash Cemetery. Remembrances to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canada Nature Conservancy or to the organization of the donor’s choice would be greatly appreciated by the family. Mabel’s family would like to thank the staff and wonderful nurses at the Carleton Kirk Lodge, especially Sean, Michael “The Archangel”, and “Hiawatha “(Jim), “her guys” whom mom adored. Special thanks to Judy Bartlett, who with Burt Alderman, waited on Mom hand and foot.