Margaret Marilyn DeAdder, 1942-2021

January 23, 2021 11:08 AM

Margaret Marilyn DeAdder, professional clipper of coupons, baker of cookies, terror behind the wheel, champion of the underdog, ruthless card player, and self-described Queen Bitch, died on Tuesday, January 19, 2021. RIP.
posted by Capt. Renault (30 comments total)

Her lifelong hobbies included painting, quilting, baking, gardening, hiking and arson.

This is a terrific obituary.
posted by mhoye at 11:21 AM on January 23, 2021 [10 favorites]

I was just about to quote the exact same line! But read the whole obit, it’s marvelous. What a tribute.
posted by zenzenobia at 11:25 AM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Wait how did she turn things around? This is a totally great obituary but now I feel like I need to track down one of the signs and find out how she went from being poor, with no car or drivers license, to being out of debt, buying three cars with cash, and sending her three sons to college. That was mysterious and I want to know how that happened. Thanks for the great post, OP.
posted by Bella Donna at 11:32 AM on January 23, 2021 [5 favorites]

Some additional context and humour in this CBC story.
posted by oulipian at 11:33 AM on January 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

It's mentioned in the CBC article, but just to note here, she's the mother of political cartoonist Michael DeAdder.
posted by ishmael at 11:47 AM on January 23, 2021 [4 favorites]

Thanks for the CBC link. I notice he .... has a beard.
posted by zenzenobia at 12:18 PM on January 23, 2021 [7 favorites]

That was very sweet, thanks for sharing.
posted by briank at 12:31 PM on January 23, 2021

I wonder what the bit about the sons’ names is about.

Really enjoyable read, though.
posted by robotmachine at 12:41 PM on January 23, 2021

This is a really great obit. I can only dream of getting one this good.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:08 PM on January 23, 2021

I wonder what the bit about the sons’ names is about.
Do you mean how they have their wives' names with them?
Pretty sure that's all it is. I think they use the same format in obits at my synagogue.

.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 1:09 PM on January 23, 2021

May all our obits be written with this much love.
posted by JawnBigboote at 1:13 PM on January 23, 2021 [5 favorites]

Oh, how lovely!
posted by obfuscation at 1:35 PM on January 23, 2021

I wonder what the bit about the sons’ names is about.
It means that whenever she addressed one of her sons to call him to come inside or to tell him either to stop doing some pernicious thing or begin doing a salubrious thing he ought to have done hours ago, she would invariably call the son by mangled half-uttered parts of his siblings' names before finally arriving at some permutation approximating the intended name. As much as she is to be praised and remembered for this, she was not unique in it. It is the time-honored tradition of exasperated mothers in every land.
posted by Don Pepino at 1:37 PM on January 23, 2021 [36 favorites]

She sounds like quite a woman, and I'm glad to have a chance to join in on celebrating her life in a way it sounds like she would have found a hoot.

It means that whenever she addressed one of her sons to call him to come inside or to tell him either to stop doing some pernicious thing or begin doing a salubrious thing he ought to have done hours ago, she would invariably call the son by mangled half-uttered parts of his siblings' names before finally arriving at some permutation approximating the intended name.

And, if she was anything like my mother, the cat or the dog's name might end up somewhere in there too...
posted by northernish at 1:57 PM on January 23, 2021 [12 favorites]

laughing at jokes, preferably in the shade of blue
posted by joeyh at 2:05 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Thank you, that was exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 2:32 PM on January 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

She sounds amazing - and I too want to know more about her arson hobby!
posted by leslies at 2:44 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

powdered milk (funneled directly into the bag to hide the fact that it was powdered, fooling nobody)

hilarious!

And, if she was anything like my mother, the cat or the dog's name might end up somewhere in there too...

ha, once my mom went through the pet bird's and her best friend's name as well!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:22 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

My mom went through my five siblings, the dogs, and my dad before she got to me once :3

Thanks for sharing this.
posted by dismas at 3:57 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

My grandfather would run through a long list of names before settling on "you, the one with the head" and pointing to the person.
posted by peppermind at 4:10 PM on January 23, 2021 [8 favorites]

.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 4:16 PM on January 23, 2021

(If this

powdered milk (funneled directly into the bag to hide the fact that it was powdered, fooling nobody)

is confusing any non-Canadians here's the explanation.)
posted by eviemath at 4:20 PM on January 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

Wait how did she turn things around?

Well given that neither painting, quilting, baking, gardening or hiking are lucrative skills for most folks, I'm putting my money on arson.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:23 PM on January 23, 2021 [20 favorites]

I’m missing my Grandma so much right now.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 4:31 PM on January 23, 2021 [4 favorites]

I hope when I croak someone writes something this good for me. This lady sounds like a blast.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:06 PM on January 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

.
posted by gauche at 7:31 PM on January 23, 2021

I love the "in lieu of flowers" and am so stealing it.
Great post.
posted by BoscosMom at 8:07 PM on January 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

so happy: this obit was saved 8 times into the Wayback Machine by people using the Save Page Now feature. Some pages need to make it to the moon.
posted by brewsterkahle at 10:16 PM on January 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

The Chronicle-Herald PODCAST: Michael de Adder on his mother's viral obituary
posted by Harvey Kilobit at 8:41 PM on January 24, 2021

This along with Anne of Green Gables and Trailer Park Boys, is the most Maritimes of pieces of writing that there can be.
posted by Space Coyote at 6:20 AM on January 25, 2021 [2 favorites]