Obituary of Margo Lowden

Linda passed away after a long illness at Belmont House in Toronto on June 28, 2019. Born in Winnipeg on October 30, 1939, to Margaret and Willard Ruppel, Linda was a devoted wife of 59 years to Steve, mother to Laura Hughes (Chris) and Steve (Angie) and a wonderful grandmother to Kaela, Ally, Mac, Hayley, Teagan, Charlie, Evan and Kyron. She will also be missed by her California siblings, Bonnie Schoenemann (Bill) and Jane Akin. Predeceased by her brother, Bob Ruppel and brother-in-law, Larry Akin. As a bright young child, Linda learned to read and play the piano by the age of four. At the age of 6, she won the junior piano competition at the Winnipeg Music Festival. Music and literature remained life-long passions. The Ruppel family moved to Toronto where in high school, at age 16, Linda would meet the love of her life, Steve, on a blind date. The two were married in 1961 at the Port Carling United Church. Linda was an active volunteer throughout her life. She continued her philanthropic spirit into retirement as one of the founding directors of the Muskoka Community Foundation and serving many years on the Board of the Muskoka Lakes Museum in Port Carling. Linda's career highlights included: Executive Director of the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Event Manager of the Canadian Association of the Symphony Orchestras and Grants Manager of the Toronto (Community) Foundation. Linda was full of life and blessed to have so many lifelong friends. She had a wonderful sense of humour and always welcomed friends and family wherever she was, whether in Flordia or Muskoka. She will be remembered fondly for her love of travel, planning wonderful adventures and meals for her children and grandchildren. Thank you to the fabulous staff at Belmont House, Amica of Barrie and Home Instead - all brought compassion, comfort and kindness to Linda and her family to the end. A special thank you to Dr. Heather Palmer for her loving support, throughtout. Visitation at the Humphrey Funeral Home at 1403 Bayview Avenue, (https://humphreymiles.com) Toronto, 2 - 4 p.m. and 6 - 8 p.m., Thursday, July 4, 2019. A Celebration of Linda's Life will be held Saturday, July 20, 4 - 6 p.m. at the Muskoka Lakes Museum in Port Carling (http://mlmuseum.com), In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Muskoka Lakes Museum (http://mlmuseum.com) or the Muskoka Community Foundation (http://muskokacommunityfoundation.ca).