Margaret "Gosia" Ewa Sobstel

Margaret “Gosia” Ewa Sobstel, food and horror movie critic, dog-lover, noise-hater, and eccentric, died on May 2, 2021. She was 55.

Margaret held many accomplishments, such as graduating with honors from the University of Wroclaw as well as obtaining a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan. However, none of that compared to her accomplishments in being the ultimate critic. Never was there a restaurant safe from her wrath, no matter the price tag attached and the accolades given by woefully misinformed critics. All were too loud, too bright, and contained pitiful service or food that she could cook better. The select few that escaped her ire were the sole restaurants that her spouse, Steve Sharp, could safely take her to on the select occasions she would allow to venture past her own perfect kitchen.

Ever the strong-willed women, with an incredibly morbid sense of humor, Margaret loved to calm her stresses by watching horror movies. Her favorite were the classics such as The Birds as she would frequently tell her daughter, Agatha Sobstel, “They just don’t make them like they used to”. Her daughter would then remind her that is because they are no longer allowed to torture the actresses, at which she would sigh. Her daughter has yet to figure out if those were sighs of sympathy or disappointment.

Other than her family, her dogs were her main priority. Or at least that is what she said, her family still suspects that the dogs were actually first. Never willing to leave them behind, vacations were limited to either places that the dogs could come or limited in nature. This was not due to not being able to secure a safe haven for the pooches, as Margaret had many wonderful and caring friends who would always step in to help, but rather that the batches of dog food that she cooked only lasted so many weeks.

Her favorite places were Fish Creek Park, where she could spend hours walking, much to the chagrin of her spouse whom could never quite keep up with her brisk pace. Her daughter was her only match, after years having spent honing in on the skills to try to keep up with her fiery mother. The other favorite was her own backyard, which she claimed was the best place on earth and the reason she did not want to travel to other vacation spots. There, you could find her on her swing with a book in her hand, critiquing whichever story she was reading. Her love of books was something that she shared with her daughter, her spouse, and her many friends. However, what was never a shared joy, was the sound of children screeching while playing. This was her only distress in her backyard, frequently telling her family that she would be happiest in a forest with no one around.

Margaret was caring, generous, witty, and sharp. She could always be found cooking, wearing a black vest and the most ridiculous men’s t-shirts. She loved wearing oversized men’s dress shirts, not the formal kind but the ones you find old men in. Her daughter once bought crocs to wear at her cottage, which were quickly stolen and finished the ensemble. If she wasn’t cooking, she was either on the phone chatting with her numerous friends or trying to figure out what her spouse found so interesting in sports.

Margaret is preceded by her father, Jacek Bakas. She is survived by her daughter, Agatha Sobstel, her “greatest joy” as her daughter wants to proudly note, as well as her daughter’s partner Jordan Hynes; her spouse Steve Sharp, her great comfort, and his son Kevin Sharp; her mother and stepfather, Henryka Urban and Tadeusz Urban, two of the most stoic and hilarious people of whom which Margaret inherited these traits from; her sister Anna Chmielinska, whom she pestered endlessly throughout their entire life, as well as her husband Grzegorz Chmielinski and their daughter Martyna Chmielinska; her ex-husband Jaroslav Sobstel and his loving family, who always asked and cared as to how she was doing; and her wonderful, generous, thoughtful friends of whom there are too many to name.

As per her wishes, as well as Covid, there will be no funeral. She frequently stated that she would hate one and her family too strongly believes in her willpower to haunt us. However, there will be a celebration for her life at a future date at one of the few restaurants that she enjoyed. Her surviving family greatly looks forward to sharing this time and stories with the many people that Margaret had touched in her life.  

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