Sarah Catherine MacKinnon, known affectionately as Sally, passed away peacefully at Inverary Manor, Inverness on Sunday, February 11, 2024, at the age of 83, surrounded by loving family. She was born on January 17, 1941, in Margaree Harbour, NS. She is predeceased by her parents, John Lauchlin and Rebecca (Dunn) MacKinnon; along with her siblings, Myles, (Marge Dee), John (Mary Clark), Carmella (Michael Leblanc), and Christena (Roy Cameron).<\/p>\n
Sally is survived by her brother, Angus (Anne Chiasson); brother-in-law, Roy Cameron; twin sister, Marie (Jim Guilford); and a vast extended family of 28 nieces and nephews; over 50 great-nieces and nephews; and remarkably, a few great-great-nieces and nephews, who were all dear to her heart. She was a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, always putting the needs of others before her own. Her warm smile and compassionate nature brought comfort and joy to all who crossed her path. Sally cherished her childhood on the family farm in Margaree Harbour, where she and Marie divided and conquered the homestead chores. Sally happily avoided the dishpan and housework to join \u201cDaddy\u201d in the barn where she nurtured her love for animals and developed a strong work ethic mirroring that of her parents, brothers, and sisters. She learned the value of grit and determination from her parents and older siblings, who tirelessly worked to provide for their family and maintain their livelihood. Sally’s upbringing on the family farm laid the foundation for the hard work and unwavering resolve that would define her later years. Her childhood experiences instilled in her a deep sense of gratitude for her Cape Breton Scottish roots and a deep love for her family and community. For Sally, there truly was no place like home.<\/p>\n
Sally was a woman of profound faith, finding solace and strength in her devotion to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. She embarked on pilgrimages to Fatima, Medjugorje and Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupr\u00e9 throughout her life, seeking to deepen her spiritual connection.\u00a0 With a heart overflowing with love and generosity, Sally extended a helping hand to those less fortunate, providing support and assistance to children and families in need. Through sponsorship programs, she ensured that children around the world had access to education, healthcare, and basic necessities, hoping to help for a brighter future.<\/p>\n
Sally’s professional calling was as a laboratory technician, a vocation she embraced with pride, expertise, and dedication. She trained at Saint Martha’s Hospital in Antigonish during the formative years of the field in Nova Scotia. Having watched her aunt, Sister Mary Carmel and her sister Chris become nurses at Saint Martha’s, Sally humbly forged her own path in the lab tech program at the same institution.\u00a0In the early years of her career, Sally played a pivotal role in establishing laboratory services at hospitals in Inverness and Cheticamp, allowing her to remain close to her beloved parents, community, and the farm. Her adventurous spirit led her to work at the hospital lab in Trail, British Columbia, before eventually returning home to Nova Scotia, where she found her permanent home at the IWK Children\u2019s Hospital in Halifax. Following her retirement as lab manager from the IWK, Sally spent the spring to fall months in Margaree at the homestead and loved the freedom of having nothing pressing to drag her off the beach on summer days. The youngest in the clan knew that Sally always had a freezie waiting for them when they came by, which naturally included a beverage of choice for the parents. Whether her feet were planted in the sand on MacKinnon\u2019s Beach or warming up on the door of the wood stove in the kitchen, gathering with family was all Sally needed.<\/p>\n
Sally will be remembered fondly for her humble and selfless spirit, unwavering faith, and profound love for her family and community. Her legacy of acts of service, generous nature and compassion for the downtrodden will continue to inspire all who had the privilege of knowing her.<\/p>\n
Sally\u2019s family would like to thank the hard working staff at The Birches in Musquodoboit Harbour and at the Inverary Manor, Inverness for caring for Sally. A funeral mass to celebrate Sally’s life will be held at St Michael\u2019s Church, East Margaree on Saturday, February 17, 2024. Visitation will be from 10:00 am until time of funeral mass at 11:00 am.\u00a0In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer\u2019s Society or Canadian Cancer Society.<\/p>\n
Rest in peace, dear Sally. You will be deeply missed and forever cherished in our hearts\u2026And the cares of tomorrow can wait ’til this day is done.<\/p>\n
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Sarah Catherine MacKinnon, known affectionately as Sally, passed away peacefully at Inverary Manor, Inverness on Sunday, February 11, 2024, at the age of 83, surrounded by loving family. She was born on January 17, 1941, in Margaree Harbour, NS. She is predeceased by her parents, John Lauchlin and Rebecca (Dunn) MacKinnon; along with her siblings, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4011,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4008","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-obituaries"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4008","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4008"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4008\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4008"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4008"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheticampfuneralservices.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4008"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}