Margaret Quien Waller

Margaret Q. (aka 'Molly' or 'Mol') Waller, mother of seven, reknown for her pervailing courage and wonderful practical mindset during all stages of her life. She thought in possibilites and took pride in solutions. She was both a 'city-wise' aristocrat as a 'bushcraft' survivalist.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, she grew up as a teenager on a farm close to Red Willow Creek in Northern Alberta, a small countryside town, now called 'Valleyview'. Her father, a WW1 Veteran, homesteaded not far from there from 1917 onwards and was simultaneously judge of the peace and fire-warden with a Canadian timber company. Her mother was a professional singer and pianist. With her three sisters Rie, Beth and Nancy and brother Jan were home-schooled and went trapping for their livelihood. She fondly recalled the horse-racing with native Canadians during festive summer events in which she excelled, naturally :).

Her off the grid living experience and prairie-wise practicality helped her survive and support family and friends through the harsh hungerwinter of 1944 in The Hague, the Netherlands. Her mental resilience and physical strength - e.g. the 25 km bicycle tours to obtain provisions at the well acquainted farm 'De Olmenhorst' in Lisserbroek, NH- contributed to them subsisting in a time of acute famine during the war-time. With her husband, the pediatrician P.A. (Tom) Voûte, she was honored posthumously and bestowed with the Yad Vashem award at a ceremony that took place on February 28, 2013 in The Hague on request of several Jewish survivors and their descendants.

During their lifetime they refused such a recognition, regretting not having done enough... This makes her one of very few Canadian-born, that was given this award. Cf.- http://db.yadvashem.org/righteous/family.html?language=en&itemId=94...