BLAIR, M. Eleanor March 27, 1927 – May 16, 2015.Peacefully, at Hospice Wellington, Guelph, Ontario on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 88 years of age. Dear daughter of the late Helen Louise (nee Scullen) and Harold William Madsen. Beloved wife of the late Marshall Blair and the late Herbert Small. Loving mother of the late Carolyn Small (Stafford Tavares), Allison Small (Steve Holtzkener), Malcolm Small (Geraldine) and Murray Small (Sharon), and step-mother of James Blair (Rachel) and Mary Ann Blair. Cherished grandmother of Amanda, Heather, Tyler and Alexis. Dear sister of the late Murray Madsen, Beatrice Rockburn, the late Freda Boyd and Harold Madsen. Fondly remembered by her many nieces, nephews and cousins, as well as her friends at Heritage River Retirement Community in Elora, Ontario. Eleanor was born on a family farm in Little Ridge, NB and began her professional career as a school teacher in Saint Stephen, NB. She married Herbert Small in 1949 and followed him to Erie, Pennsylvania where Herb began a sales career with an electronics engineering firm. Eleanor was the glue that held the family together while Herb’s job kept him “on the road” for weeks at a time and had them move house 12 times before they finally landed in Fergus, Ontario in 1975. After raising four children, Eleanor re-trained as a bookkeeper, and worked in the Guelph law office of Hungerford, Guthrie, Berry & Hammond until her retirement at age 65 in 1992. Herb had died in 1985, so upon her retirement she chose to fulfill her lifelong dream of (recreational) travel, and also took up golf. Marshall shared her love of travel and golf, and they married in 1998. For many years, they spent several months each winter in Florida or Mexico. They took a wrong turn on a walk in Mexico and ended up miles away from their rented casa in Ajijic. Some locals in a pick-up truck offered them a ride back to town, and the pair laughed as they bounced along in the open back amid live chickens and vegetables. While the cruises they took together are too numerous to list, Eleanor’s two favourites were a 3 month cruise around the world on the Queen Elizabeth II, and a cruise around South America when the ship encountered extremely rough seas rounding Cape Horn. When Eleanor was no longer able to negotiate the stairs in their home, she and Marshall moved into Heritage River, where they made many friends. To Eleanor, Heritage River was home. Cremation has taken place, and a Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 pm on Sunday, June 28, 2015, at Heritage River Retirement Community, 25 Wellington Drive, Elora. As an expression of sympathy, donations to Groves Memorial Hospital Foundation, 235 Union Street East, Fergus, ON N1M 1W3, or to Hospice Wellington. www.hospicewellington.org would be appreciated.
