Margaret Beverly Long (nee Seely)

August 30, 1921 - September 16, 2018
Our dear mother, grandmother, and great- grandmother died peacefully at Jubilee Lodge in the loving care of family and staff.

Margaret was born in Quesnel but grew up in North Vancouver, where she obtained her ARCT piano teaching degree at age 17. In 1940 she obtained her Normal School qualifications and took a teaching position in Palling, BC, near Burns Lake. She met her future husband, Arthur Long, who then enlisted and served in the BC Dragoons, a tank corps that saw action through Italy and Holland until 1945. Margaret wrote Art daily for five years. They were married January 26, 1946 and returned to Palling, where they started a small logging and sawmilling business. The city girl became camp cook for the crew and mother to three sons. When the boys became school age, the family settled in Palling, where Margaret began her career as a piano teacher, which continued until she was 80. In the following years she was a founding and executive member of the Lakes District Festival Association. Her music touched many generations of local people through accompaniment for church services, weddings, funerals, dances, concerts, and summer camps. She taught elementary school mostly as a District Music Specialist in Burns Lake and Houston, spreading her joy of music to a wide audience. She also taught swimming lessons to many children in Palling and at Mollice Lake Camp. She and Art were avid travelers, with a special love for Africa. Following Art's death in 1985, she lived in Burns Lake and later moved to Prince George to be nearer to her family.

She is survived by: three sons; Sandy (Roberta), Gordon (Linda), and Jamie (Beverly); six grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren, all of whom considered Gramma Margaret the family Matriarch, Mistress of Limericks, and ultimate arbiter of all things musical.

A memorial service will be held in Prince George at Trinity United Church, 3555 5th Avenue on Saturday, October 6 at 2:00 pm. Interment of her ashes in Burns Lake will take place next year.