Antonio and Agnes de Margerie, Thérèse’s parents, met in Manitoba when Antonio had come home for a visit from Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface and Agnes Lavergne, a native of Sainte-Anne-des-Chenes, was staying at a home of an aunt next door as she had come to Manitoba to learn French. Antonio embarked on a teaching career and worked tirelessly on programs and events that worked towards the survival of French spoken language. At such an event, Antonion was overheard speaking to this theme and was hired to organize and develop a program to teach French in Saskatchewan. This is where he dedicated his life’s work.
Thérèse de Margerie initially followed in the footsteps of her father and worked for several years teaching in Saskatchewan. Her ideas were appreciated and she was eventually hired to develop a new teaching style for the province. She eventually decided to move to Quebec for work and then ended up in Ottawa, working for 25 years as an interpreter and translator for the House of Commons. She retired to Saskatoon in 1989 and she then devoted her time and energy to three beloved causes, ecumenism, visiting the elderly and Eucharist ministry, and as a florist, sacristan and Reader at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. She worked alongside her brother Fr. Bernard de Margerie, promoting the Ecumenism movement.
Thérèse, the eldest daughter, working with her financial planner, established two funds in 2010 to honour her father’s legacy and to celebrate the work the de Margerie family and its dedication to Ecumenism. The Antonio de Margerie Fund for French Language is a field of interest endowment fund at the Saskatoon Community Foundation. This fund supports charities or qualified donee(s) working in the area of ensuring the survival of and improving the quality of the French language in Saskatchewan.