It is with sadness we inform you of the death of Margaret “Marg” Gabel, on Sunday, March 2, 2025, age
92.

Marg was admitted to hospital a week ago with pneumonia and passed peacefully with her family by her side. She is predeceased by her loving husband Cliff, married 67 years at his passing in 2024. Marg and Cliff moved to Peel Village in 1964, living on Farmington Drive for 54 years before her move into Greenway. Marg and Cliff joined St. Bartholomew’s United Church on January 10, 1965.

The St. Bartholomew’s congregation extends to Margaret’s family, including daughter Jan (Bryan), sons Terry (Brenda) and Jim (Carrie), 8 grandchildren and 2 great granddaughters, our heart-felt sympathy and prayers during this difficult time.

Expressions of sympathy can be forwarded to:
Gabel & Nyhof Families
c/o 44 Farmington Drive
Brampton ON L6W 2V2

Margaret's Life Story:

Born Margaret (“Marg”) Anne Hintz on September 15th, 1932 to Freda Marie (nee Schmidt) and Herbert Victor Hintz of Kitchener. She was an only child much to her chagrin, but spent summers on the Schmidt family farm in Hanover with her four female cousins getting into as much trouble as was possible!

Her father played the clarinet in a concert band with his brothers and led by their father,
Marg’s grandfather. She took piano lessons as a child, but didn’t particularly enjoy them.
Classical music was played in her home and her father had a large collection of reel to reel
recordings that his grandchildren loved to hear!

Marg attended high school at Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate (KCI) where she ultimately met her husband. A cheerleader, and member of the Athletic Executive, she was voted Queen of Hearts in her senior year. Marg made lifelong friends with her classmates and would go on to nursing school with some of them. By all accounts, her future husband, John Gabel, was highly desirable; tall, athletic, shy and he had access to a car! He asked Marg out on her 16th birthday, ‘the best present she ever got’ according to Marg!

Marg went on to Nursing School after high school. She always said it was the hardest thing she’d ever done. She said quitting was never an option, because she wanted to make her parents proud and indeed they were.

Marg loved nursing and lamented the changes that would occur over the years in the transition from total patient care to care where one patient could have several nurses over the course of their stay. She maintained that with total patient care, they really got to know their patients and how best to nurse them back to health. One particular patient was a young man who had severely injured both legs and wasn’t expected to walk again. He was transferred to a rehabilitation program after his time with Marg in the hospital. Some time later, Marg was at a dance with her husband when a man came up and asked “Nurse Hintz, could I have this dance?” It was her patient, who had beaten the odds and wanted to thank her for her expert nursing care by dancing with her!

Marg and John were married April 14th,1956. They went to New York on their honeymoon
and from the sounds of it, it's a wonder they were still married at the end of it! John took
Marg to a baseball game. Their seats were ‘nosebleeds’ at best and they were surrounded by some very rowdy, unsavory baseball fans! John sought to make up for it by taking Marg to a nice restaurant for dinner but everything on the menu was so expensive that after ordering an appetizer, John told the waiter that Marg wasn’t feeling well and they would have to leave.

The newlyweds settled into a 3 bedroom bungalow in what was then Preston, Ontario. John owned a Sporting Goods store called Olympic Sports. Marg would help out by sewing custom letters on baseball and hockey jerseys, sometimes well into the early hours of the morning, in addition to nursing full-time. Nursing came to an abrupt end when their first child was born on Jan 3rd, 1958. He was the first baby born in 1958 and much fuss was made about it in the local papers, and Marg and John received gifts from the town to celebrate.

A second child, a daughter, was born on September 6th, 1959 and a third would follow June 27th, 1962. The bungalow got real small, real fast after that. John had sold the store and taken a job in Toronto with Atlantic Products. The family moved to 44 Farmington Drive in Peel Village, Brampton in June of 1964. It was Marg’s dream home when they moved in, and while over the years they looked at other houses in other cities, “44” as it became affectionately known is still in the family today.

A hub of activity for 20 years with a backyard rink in the winter and a volleyball court in the
summer, 44 was busy. Friends were always welcome, “the more, the merrier” Marg would
say. The family room became a dressing room for putting on skates, and Marg would serve hot chocolate so the skaters could warm up.

At some point during this time, Marg took driving lessons. Her parents never owned a car and went everywhere by bus or taxi. Marg was a good driver and had a driving style that
was conservative in comparison to John’s. She generally avoided left hand turns, frequently taking a circuitous route to her destination. For many years, her car was a station wagon (today’s equivalent of a van) and it was commonly packed with kids, as many as could fit in the seats and the back (seatbelts were optional in those days) for rides to hockey practice and figure skating, and to and from high school. Marg didn’t have time to work, although she sporadically had a couple of part-time jobs to augment her decorating budget.

During this time, Marg and John bought a 15 acre piece of property near Alton that became known simply as “The Land”. They built a one room cabin along the Credit River and put in a volleyball court. While at times they would talk about building a house there, Marg felt it was too remote. She liked being surrounded by people and the bustle of what was the growing city of Brampton and so The Land was a place to go for the day and overnight once a year on Labour Day Weekend. The kids would ‘camp’ in tents while the parents had the cabin.

All this fun and activity would transfer to Caledon Lake when Marg and John (who was also known as Cliff in some circles) bought a cottage in July 1985. It quickly became the family’s new favourite place. They brought volleyball to the lake, putting in a sand court and making a volleyball tournament part of the annual regatta activities, a tradition that continues to this day.

Marg loved to entertain. She was a good cook and was ‘almost famous’ for her Brownies and her Butter Tarts, and she is controversially famous for her spaghetti sauce! Cliff loved her rhubarb and elderberry pies.

Marg was an avid Bridge player. She counted her bridge club friends among her closest.
Perhaps this was the real reason they never moved from 44 - Marg wanted to be close to
her Bridge Club friends! She loved cards and games, and spent hours playing Kings Around the Corner with her grandchildren. 500 was a cottage favourite, as was cribbage, and there were always prizes in the form of Naniamo Bars.

While Marg didn’t work outside the home, she kept it and the family schedule running
smoothly. However, she always found time to volunteer; in the school library school and
teaching Sunday School. Later she would volunteer at the Hospital Gift Shop, and went on to be a part of the group of ladies known as ‘BUDS’. They would meet once a week to make real and artificial flower arrangements for the gift shop.

When grandchildren came along, Marg reprised her role as ‘cheerleader’, attending soccer games, dance recitals and competitions, volleyball games, basketball, curling, gymnastics; whatever was going on, Marg and John were there.

When John had a stroke in 2016, Marg was by his side. She visited him every afternoon in the hospital for the 8 months he was there. She relied on the generosity of friends to drive her so she wouldn’t have to worry about parking or making left hand turns! When John was moved to Tall Pines Long Term Care, where he would live until his passing in 2024, Marg was there every afternoon as well. A favourite with both staff and other residents, Marg was always interested in and friendly to everyone.

After Covid, Marg’s memory started to decline. First her short-term memory and then gradually longer-term memories faded. Thankfully, she always knew her children and their spouses by name, and with gentle nudging, she would remember all of her 8 grandchildren and their partners. She met both her great granddaughters marvelling unbelievably that she was a great-grandmother! While she was not able to process John’s passing a year ago, she
believed that she had seen him the day before and would see him tomorrow. She also never forgot that ‘he was the best thing that ever happened to her’. And now they are together again.