Peggi McNeil taught her children never to quit
Despite diagnosis, she lived to dance at her daughter’s wedding
Peggi (Margaret Lynne) McNeil Born: July 13, 1950, in Toronto Died: April 18, 2014, in Ottawa, from ovarian cancer at age 63.
Peggi McNeil couldn’t stay away from Ottawa.
On three separate occasions she moved to the nation’s capital — once as a university student, once for work with the federal government and a final time to settle down and raise a family in the city she loved.
Whether she was organizing charity dinners to raise money for the community centre in Old Ottawa South, helping others launch political careers from her kitchen, or lining up volunteers for countless neighbourhood projects, Peggi made a lasting impression.
Born to Lloyd and Helen McNeil, and an older sister to Nanci, Peggi grew up in Streetsville, west of Toronto. She headed to Ottawa the first time after high school to attend Carleton University’s journalism program, paying her tuition by working summers as a waitress at Château Lake Louise in the Alberta Rockies.
She left Ottawa for her first job in journalism as a reporter for the Bramalea Guardian, but soon returned — this time for a position as communications officer with the federal government.
Peggi reconnected with Rob Clipperton, a school friend from Streetsville, in 1975 and the two were soon inseparable. After a brief stint in Sault Ste. Marie, where they both worked for a local radio and television station, they returned to Ottawa — this time for good — with Peggi resuming her civil service career and Rob beginning his at CBC Radio.
Peggi would go on to have a long and distinguished career as a public servant. Following her death, former colleagues credited her with moulding a generation of managers, first at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and then at Canada Border Services Agency.
Peggi and Rob married in 1979. Son Joshua arrived in 1982 followed by daughter Drew three years later.
Peggi stayed at home when her children were young, but she kept busy by starting a music and exercise program for toddlers and their parents in the basement of Southminster United Church in Old Ottawa South. Many participants then and now say that Tot-Romp was ahead of its time in getting kids active, and the business continued for six years with several other locations across the city before Peggi decided to go back to her job with the government.
Peggi and Rob bought a lakeside cottage in West Quebec in the 1980s and eventually built a beautiful log home. It was her favourite place in the world. Sunny afternoons were spent on the dock with a book and drink in hand, waving at passing boaters and cheering on novice water skiers. The place remains a slice of heaven for family and friends every summer.
Peggi taught her children to be independent, curious, resourceful, adventurous and never to quit. She exhibited these traits herself, especially when volunteering. Peggi helped organize ice flooders for the outdoor rink in the park behind the family home, sat on school councils and was proud of her involvement mobilizing parents and coaches to protect extracurricular activities when high school teachers were working to rule. Peggi was an advocate for those in need, always dedicated to the cause, defending those who required help and support.
But she regarded her most important role as wife and mother.
Peggi was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2012, but was determined to dance at her daughter’s wedding that summer.
Although she was going through chemotherapy, very few in attendance that day had any inkling she was sick. The mother of the bride was the life of the party and danced the night away. Pictures from that magical night show pure joy in her eyes.
Peggi’s family, friends and colleagues mourn her death, but count themselves among the luckiest people in the world for having been part of a vibrant life that was cut much too short.
Joshua Clipperton is Peggi’s son