Obituary of Maureen Donald

Surrounded by loving family members, Mo passed away peacefully on the morning of August 8, 2010 at Quarry Hill, Camden, Maine after a brief bout with leukemia. In these final weeks, she faced the end of life with remarkable courage and an elegant dignity. The way she faced impending death was as inspiring as the way she lived her life. She was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on August 28, 1941 to Arthur Paul Donald and Vaughan Margaret Gorman. She studied art at St. Paul’s Academy in Westmount, Quebec, and continued her studies at Ecole Des Arts and Metiers and Ecole Des Beaux Arts in Montreal. Shortly before she moved to Maine, she worked at the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal. For the first ten years in Maine, Mo worked at retail merchandiser and buyer, a career that took her frequently to Boston and New York. It was in New York that she studied classical jazz dance with the renowned teacher Luigi. In 1977 Mo opened Motion Studio in Rockport and for the next ten years taught a variety of dance and exercise classes. In 1980, with Afro-American dancer/choreographer Arthur Hall of Philadelphia, she co-founded the People- to-People Dance Company, a grassroots community-based dance troupe. In the late 1980s she spent eight years studying and then teaching yoga and yoga therapy. In 1996 she became certified as an instructor in the authentic method of Pilates training. Her passion for this form of body and mind conditioning led her to open Pilates in Camden, a studio where she shared her remarkable skills with so many. A loving sister, mother and grandmother, a beautiful and stylish woman, an inspiring teacher, a gifted artist, a talented gardener and a loyal friend, she leaves an indelible mark on the community in which she lived, worked and loved so much. We will always hold precious her memory and the wonderful times she shared with us. She is survived by her daughter Tara, stepdaughter Tamzyn, stepson Talbot, grandchildren River and Saylor, brothers Terry and David, Aunt Marie and many cousins here in the US and Canada. A memorial service will be held in Camden on Saturday, September 25, 2010.