Rebecca Julie Lechman

We are saddened to announce the unexpected passing of Rebecca Julie Lechman on March 29, 2020 at her home in Winnipeg.

Rebecca was born May 10, 1977 and spent her childhood playing with a close-knit group of friends -- swimming, exploring the local parks, and riding bikes.  She enjoyed driving with the family on summer trips all over North America.  This love for adventure and, in particular, road-trips followed her into adulthood. 

She attended Emerson Elementary followed by Balmoral Hall where she graduated as Head Girl.  Rebecca graduated from the University of Manitoba, and in true Bec-style, she studied everything from biology to theatre.

Rebecca loved to work and be busy.  She started off in hospitality while in school. She and her sister Ginny could often be found working together at Tony Roma’s on Kennedy Street.  Following this she dabbled in numerous careers, most notably returning to Balmoral Hall as the Director of Residence, and then finally landing at Banville & Jones Wine Co. seven years ago.  She loved learning about wine, became certified as a sommelier and had a passion for teaching others about the magical world of grapes. 

During a brief period living in Newfoundland, she and her partner Ryan fell in love with the province and the people.  Some time after moving back to Winnipeg they bought a second home in the community of Herring Neck, Newfoundland.  Rebecca spent as much time here in the summer as she could - jigging for cod, hiking with her dog Daisy, visiting with friends and enjoying the beautiful landscape.  She spent the rest of the year telling everyone how they needed to go see the island and meet the locals.

Rebecca thrived on the energy of people and surrounded herself with so many wonderful friends and colleagues.  She was always the first to offer support, and would tell you the hard things you needed to hear.  She pushed herself and everyone around her to be better and to find the things that made them happy.  In the recent months so many of you have gone above and beyond to return that support to her.  Please know we appreciate you and your gestures.  Rebecca felt your love.

The bond between Rebecca and her mother Barbara, and sister Ginny was admirable.  The sisterly connection between Becca and Ginny was impressive and never wavered.  And while always close with her mother, this link had grown stronger recently as Barb helped Rebecca navigate the journey of heart surgery. The recent addition of two nieces, Flora and Aneska, gave Rebecca so much joy. She loved to brag about how amazing they are and showed anyone and everyone their pictures.

Her family was her heart and soul.  When her heart failed her, we felt like our hearts physically broke as well.  She had so much more to give, to those of us already in her life, but also to those she had yet to meet. Words cannot describe the immense loss we feel, and void her passing leaves in our lives.

Due to current social distancing measures, we plan to celebrate Rebecca’s life at a later date. Please no flowers. We ask that if you would like to honour Rebecca please consider donating to Winnipeg Animal Services (where she adopted Daisy from), the Herring Neck Dory Festival which was incredibly special to her (www.hndoryfestival.com/donate), or a charity of your choice.