LONG, Olive Mary (Knight) - In her 92nd year, peacefully passed away on August 22, 2019 in Toronto, Ontario. Mary was admitted to hospital on August 12, 2019 and, in true form, showed her inner strength and resilience for 11 days.
During this time, her family shared precious moments as she transitioned from Earth to Heaven with her deep faith in God at the forefront. We are grieving yet rejoicing that she is now free from all pain and face-to-face with Jesus.
Visitation will be Thursday, August 29, 2019 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Shepherd Village Visitation Centre - 3760 Sheppard Avenue East, Scarborough, ON M1T 3K9.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, August 30, 2019 at Catch The Fire Church, 272 Attwell Drive, Toronto, ON. A reception will immediately follow at the same location. A private family burial will take place at Pine Hills Cemetery.
Mary was born and raised in England into a family known for their love of laughter, quick wits and a spirit of competition and adventure. She was the second child of seven born to Kathleen and Oswald Beaumont Knight. Mary exceled in school, especially maths, sciences and sports. After graduation she was the computer for Taylor, Taylor & Hobson from 1943 to 1947 and then a troubleshooter for Kodak from 1947 to 1952…two jobs she took great pride in as a young woman in a man’s world. When she was 21 years old, Mary gave her heart to Jesus and this led to her greatest adventures. Within three years, she moved to Malawi in Africa and dedicated her life to missionary work. It was there in 1955 that she met her husband, Robert Charles Long of Toronto. They married in 1956, started a family and continued working together at the Chididi Mission where they helped start a Bible School and poured their hearts into the lives of so many who lived there. In 1963, they moved to Canada with their young family of three, added three more children, and together pastored 4 Fellowship Baptist churches in Ontario until Charles’ passing in 1986. Mary then returned to Malawi and worked on several initiatives including teaching bookkeeping, training women and mentoring pastors’ wives. She officially retired at the age of 70 but continued to fundraise and visit Malawi on a regular basis until her AVM stoke in 2006. Even in this life trial, Mary set a standard and amazed everyone around her. At 79 years of age, she learned to walk, talk and write (with her opposite hand!) again. She even taught herself to knit with one hand but, she was best known for her bright smile, strong faith and optimistic attitude. At Fieldstone Commons, the long-term care facility where she lived, Mary became actively involved and soon took on the role of President of the Residents Association and advocated for all the residents there. She also held Bible studies, conducted welcoming tours and even organized a fundraising campaign to provide mosquito netting and other supplies for AIDS orphans and widows in Malawi. Mary amazed us all. As her family, we know we are greatly blessed for the life she lived and the example she set. It truly was a life well lived.
Mary is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Charles Long and a son who died in infancy.
Mary is survived by her children: Stephen (Sandra), Richard (Terry), Jennifer Browett (Dan), Patricia Henry (Richard), Brian (Lindsay) and Elizabeth Langevin (Ross). She is also survived by her grandchildren: Jon (Melissa), Chris (Rebekah), Robin (Torrin), Andrew (Kristy), Matthew, Victoria, Alexander, Emma, Jillian and Robbie. Her great grandchildren: Ethan, Benedict, Juliet, Levi and Kade (and those who follow) will all hear wonderful stories of her life and legacy.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Tiyamike Women Empowerment SIM project 096854 in Malawi are greatly appreciated. For more information about this project, visit: https://www.tiyamikesewing.com/, https://www.sim.ca/tiyamike-women-empowerment/, and
https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=tiymike%20malawi&epa=SEARCH_BOX.
Mary’s family wishes to extend their sincere thanks to all the staff at Fieldstone Commons, especially 2B, who provided exceptional care and developed friendships with her over the past 13 years. We also extend our thanks to the Acute and Palliative Care units at Scarborough General Hospital who respectfully and tenderly made our Mom comfortable in her final days.
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