Clare, Mary – born in James Bay Junction, Ontario and passed away on October 19, 2026 in the palliative care wing in Dartmouth General Hospital, Dartmouth, after a long battle with lymphoma.
She is survived by her husband of over 62 years, Don Brown; children, Jeff and his wife, Tresia (Tebogt), Phillip and his wife, Holly (Reid), Calinda, and Alswitha; grandchildren, Marika (Thomas), Callum (Sara), Reid (Alexis), and Lachlan (Camryn); brother, Patrick Clare and his wife, Luci Rice; sisters-in-law, Ann Clare, Sharon Clare; and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
She was predeceased by her father, Minot Clare and her mother, Bertha (MacFarlane); her sister, Joan McDonald and her husband, Bob; her brother, Harvey and his wife, Betty (Humphreys); and her brother, Gordon.
Mary lived in many communities growing up but Parry Sound was always called “Up Home”. She spent her teen years in Milton, Ontario before settling in West Luther, Ontario where she and Don raised their kids. She was always ready to help her family, and her younger brother, Pat was welcomed into our home as a teenager and would continue to come back to stay for many years.
Mary loved cooking and our childhood was full of new magazine recipes and strange ingredients no one else in school had ever heard of or seen. We all enjoy cooking today because of her early teaching. And her baking was always consumed with many cups of tea. She also enjoyed dressing up and going dancing with Don, first when they were dating and then again when they retired to Nova Scotia. She was also a trivia master and excellent at crossword puzzles and word games. She was beloved by the family pets, especially our dogs including Sam, Josey, Storm, TeeCee, and her last little lady, Sadie.
Mary and Don travelled across North America in a variety of different motor homes, visiting children on both coasts. Mary traveled to Mexico with her mother, Italy with Calinda, and many, many places with Don, including their first big adventure in semi-retirement, a month-long trip to China in 1992. Even after all of that adventure, a Sunday afternoon drive down a country road was still one of her favourite trips.
Growing up, Sundays were also the day she called her family, and the best sound in the world was Mom laughing with her family. She loved to keep jokes going, some for decades. A word or two could start everyone giggling. When the kids grew up, we took over Sundays, calling home from wherever we were around Canada or the world and hearing that special laugh.
Mary had many roles in her life, from her first job as a waitress at 14, chauffeur at 16 when she bought her family their first car, and bank teller when the kids were little. She was known for the food truck in Arthur that she ran with Alswitha, where the Damascus Burgers were the stuff of legend. Along with Don, she ran a solid waste collection business, owned and operated rental properties in Ontario and Nova Scotia, and ran a propane tank refurbishment business.
Mary had a fantastic memory for faces and names, and in later years, Mom became a historian and genealogist where she combed through the mountains of pictures, letters, and ephemera she had inherited from her family and in-laws. Social media let her connect with people looking for details about their families or events in the towns Mary grew up in, and she loved tracking down information from her collection and sharing it online.
We thank the staff of 5West and the Emergency Department at Dartmouth General. Their care made a painful and frightening time a little easier to bear.
Donations in her memory can be made to the Dartmouth General Hospital Foundation or the QE II Foundation Cancer Care Technology drive or a charity of your choice.
Arrangements are under the direction of Arimathea Funeral Cooperative.
Cremation has taken place.
The family will hold a Celebration of Life at a later date.
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