Honourable senators, I am saddened and honoured to pay tribute to a remarkable Edmontonian Margaret-Ann Armour, who died this Saturday at the age of 79. Dr. Armour was an organic chemist, an expert in hazardous waste management, a professor, a university administrator and she was a chemical catalyst for generations of young women who were inspired by her passion to pursue careers in engineering and science. She was also a thoroughly delightful human being, unpretentious, witty and fizzling with enthusiasm.

You might meet her and think she was a slightly muddled, slightly ditzy Scottish granny, but she always reminded me a little bit of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. Behind the soft Scottish accent and the soft blue eyes was a mind that delighted in solving mysteries.

Born in Glasgow, she took her first two degrees at the University of Edinburgh and worked for several years as a research chemist before moving to Edmonton to pursue a PhD at the University of Alberta. She graduated in 1970, and just nine years later was named assistant chair of the department.

Concerned by the relatively small numbers of women enrolled in science degrees in the U of A, Dr. Armour helped to found WISEST, Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology, a program designed to spark girls’ interest in fields traditionally dominated by men.

For almost 40 years, she dedicated herself to proving science could be exciting and fun. She led workshops for elementary, junior high and high school students — workshops full of sly humour and sometimes explosive surprises. She made science hugely entertaining, whether she was blowing things up or shattering bananas she’d dipped in liquid nitrogen.

In Edmonton, we didn’t need a Miss Frizzle or a Magic School Bus. We had Margaret-Ann Armour, and she brought the magic.

She blew things up in academia, too. In 2005, she was named the associate dean of diversity for the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Science. She pushed hard not just to boost the enrollment of students in underrepresented groups but for greater diversity in academic hiring. She earned at least half a dozen honorary doctorates, was awarded the Order of Canada and inducted into the City of Edmonton Hall of Fame. In 2016, the Edmonton Public School Board named a school in her honour, where she delighted in dropping in to play at science with students, making her final visit just last month.

This weekend she was scheduled to receive yet another honorary doctorate, this one from Edmonton’s Concordia University. She wasn’t well enough to attend, so on Friday, Concordia sent a delegation to her hospital room, in full academic regalia, to present her degree. She apologized for being unable to attend the convocation ceremony, and then handed them her speech, which she had quite literally composed on her deathbed. The very next day, she left us, embarking upon life’s ultimate chemical transformation.

Molière said, and I quote:

To live without loving is not really to live.

Margaret-Ann Armour was in love with the universe, with knowledge, science and the excitement of inspiring young minds. In Edmonton, we loved her back.