Marian (Davenport) Woodward

Marian Woodward, born Marian Lucille Davenport in Davisburg, Alberta, passed peacefully on Monday, September 11, 2023.

She is survived by her children, Jim Reich (Colleen Varcoe), Susan Eaton (John Eaton), Donna Reich, and David Reich; and her grandchildren, Tara Flynn, Amy McCarthy (Mike), Robert Eaton (Chantalle), Matt Eaton (Thatsanee Meethao Eaton), James Eaton (Jen Blezard), Megan Leblanc (Dan Dooley), Alex Reich (Corrine Reich), and Aaron Jarman (Christy Depever); and her great-grandchildren, Parker, Remy and Brandon Leblanc, Emad and Haneen Kassim, and  Charlie and Alexander Eaton.

Marian attended Davisburg School at age 5. One of her fondest memories was riding her horse Teddy to school until age 13. She continued her education in Calgary at the Central Collegiate Institute and Mount Royal College, eventually earning her Bachelor of Education, with a specialization in mathematics from the University of Alberta in 1947, at the age of 20. According to Grandma Lucy, Marian’s mother, she supported Marian’s education by taking loads of onions by wagon to Calgary for sale! She began teaching at Saint Hilda’s Calgary (now Strathcona-Tweedsmuir) and subsequently taught at Lethbridge Collegiate Institute for 4 years.

Having spent 2 summers working at the Dewinton Airport Flying Facility during the war, she trained for and received her private pilot’s license at the Lethbridge Flying Club in 1949. There she met Hans Reich, whom she married in 1950. She was a longstanding member of the “Alberta Flying Farmers Association” and their first “Queen”.

In 1960, Marian moved her 4 children to Calgary, where she raised them while teaching for 10 years each, at Henry Wise Wood High School, Central Memorial High School, and E. P. Scarlett High School, and taking in boarders. Marian retired from teaching high school in 1987 and moved to the homestead in Davisburg where she and her daughter Donna raised llamas under the banner of Highwood Llamas. They attended shows, showing often at the Calgary Stampede. She taught English through Adult Education for another 10 years.

“My mom was always kind and generous”, says Donna, her long companion, daughter, and fellow llama aficionado. “Mom was one of the most sociable people I have ever met”, says Susan “You couldn’t go anywhere without running into someone she considered a friend”. “Best mom ever”, Jim adds, “She was ahead of the curve – raising her children through those years on her own, becoming a pilot, being so independent”. “She was the dearest lady I ever met”, said her friend Elaine of 75 years.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 14, 2023, in Calgary. Please email Susan.eaton@shaw.ca or highwoodllamas@gmail.com to RSVP and for details.

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