Beattie, Anne Macfarlane

Anne Macfarlane Beattie 1908 – 1984

Anne was born in Montreal in August, 1908, and graduated with a B.A. from McGill University. It was while working in the library that she met her future husband James Beattie, and they were married in August 1934. They lived in an old stone house on the Richelieu River in Chambly, about 30 km southeast of Montreal. She was the eldest of four children, followed by Isobel Farquharson, Robert Macfarlane and Alice Konow. Anne and James had four children; Nancy, Benny, Alison and Janet.
During World War II, she did volunteer work with the local Red Cross. Anne was an avid reader, went for daily walks, and enjoyed skiing in the Laurentians. In Montreal she was active with the Grenfell Mission, the University Women's Club, the Red Feather (Centraide), as well as volunteering at the Montreal General Hospital cafeteria gift shop.
As a child, she summered with her family across the St. Lawrence in Cacouna, but after she was married, it was Tadoussac for the rest of her life. Here she played golf and tennis, enjoyed picnics at Moulin Baude, swimming in the lake, and birthday bonfires on the beach.
Anne loved the fresh, Saguenay-mountain air and the Lower St. Lawrence salty air, and never missed a chance to dash quickly in and out of the water on picnics at Moulin Baude, always accompanied by the shrieks and sounds familiar to those who brave these frigid waters. Berry-picking was always an important household activity; wild strawberries, followed by raspberries and then blueberries. The house rule was “if you don't pick them, you don't eat them”. And always, those black flies! In late August, the adults picked cranberries, then spent an evening in the kitchen around the wood stove making the cranberry sauce for Christmas dinner.
Mom was happiest when her sisters and their families were holidaying with us. In the evenings after a day filled with various activities, Anne enjoyed a quiet read or game of bridge. She died in her beloved Tadoussac at the age of 76 in the summer of 1984.

Benny Beattie