Obituary of Margaret Ann Phillips

Margaret Ann Phillips (known to many as Tanya DeLuna) June 16, 1940 – May 30, 2026

Peacefully at University Hospital, London, on Saturday, May 30, 2026, in her 86th year, Margaret passed away.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, beside the Pacific she would spend a lifetime returning to, Margaret was raised in London, Ontario, and grew into a woman of remarkable nerve and independence. As a young woman she traveled south through Mexico on her own, crewed aboard the legendary yacht Ticonderoga in the 1965 Transpacific Race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, and made a home for many years in Hawaii — surfing, studying art at the University of Hawaii, and stringing lei on the island of Kauai. She returned home to London to raise her son, working long years at Kellogg's with a quiet, unbreakable devotion. She loved the ocean, art, the shells she gathered and sorted by colour, and above all the family she gave everything to.

Loving and devoted mother of Dr. Freedom-Kai Phillips, in whom she poured a lifetime of wonder, curiosity, and love.

Dear sister of Bill, Walt, Patty, and Gale. Treasured aunt of Sue, Heather, Jeff, Patrick, and Melissa.

Predeceased by her parents and by her beloved brothers Bill and Walt, as well as sister Gale.

Margaret faced every hardship of her long life with the same courage she carried into the sea. As she liked to say of the day a jellyfish stung her in the Hawaiian surf — she got stung, and she went back in. She never once learned how to stay out.

A graveside service will be held at St. Peter's Cemetery, 806 Victoria Street, London, on Friday, June 5, 2026. For those who wish to attend, please meet the family at the cemetery office on Friday at 12:45 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Margaret may be made to the Humane Society of London & Middlesex.