It is with profound sadness that the family announces the peaceful passing of their mother and Baba on July 2 at the age of 97 years.

To cherish her memory, Vera leaves behind her three children, Murray (Lisa), Daria (Darren) and Donald, as well as her four precious grandchildren - Natalia, Tiana, Oksana and Kerry. Vera also leaves behind many relatives in Ukraine.

Predeceased by her loving husband William (Bill) in 2011 and her biological parents in Ukraine, as well as her adopted parents in Winnipeg.  Vera’s kind and compassionate ways will remain forever in the hearts of her loving family and with the many enduring friendships that she made over the years.

Vera was born on October 10, 1928 in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in Western Ukraine.   In 1936, her Aunt Mary and Uncle John in Winnipeg wanted mom or her sister Mary to come and visit them. At the early age of eight years old, Vera volunteered to visit them in Winnipeg which would also provide her with the opportunity to see other parts of Canada.  As Vera was about to embark for Canada , she realized that her travel chaperone failed to show up and mom was left alone for the duration of her trip. Fortunately for Vera there were other people traveling to Canada at the same time and they looked after her.  On her way to Canada, Vera also spent a few days in London, England before sailing to Canada. One of the tourist sites in London that Vera was most impressed with was the Wax Museum.  Upon the completion of her visit to Canada, the plan was for Vera to return back home to Ukraine. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, Vera was unable to return to Ukraine and she was subsequently adopted by her Uncle John and Aunt Mary in Winnipeg.

In Winnipeg, Vera completed her preparatory schooling at Anna Gibson School, Elmwood School, St. Nicholas School and St. Mary’s Academy.  Vera graduated as a Registered Nurse (RN) from St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing where she worked for many years in the Operating Room. While raising her family and as time permitted, she accepted RN positions at HSC (Rehab), City of Winnipeg Public Health and Donwood Manor. The accomplishments that Vera valued the most was her career as a nurse.  As a challenge, Vera enrolled in evening classes at the University of Winnipeg to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at the age of 50 years. As well, she attended Red River Community College and completed a course in “Management Development Program” and “Effective Supervision in Hospitals”.   Vera was also a member on the Manitoba Council on Aging for a number of years.  Vera’s Catholic faith was very important to her and she dedicated much of her time to the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League (UCWL) at both St. Andrews Ukrainian Catholic Church and Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church.  As busy as she was, Vera also found the time and energy to actively participate in other organizations such as Alpha Omega, St. Boniface Nurses Alumni, Holy Family Home Auxiliary, as well as being the recording secretary for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Provincial Council for three years.

In her early years, Vera also participated in many activities related to her Ukrainian culture including but not limited to Ukrainian dancing and singing in the Ukrainian choir.  Vera and Bill  travelled extensively across Canada and the United States. Some of their favorite destinations were New York, California, Florida and Hawaii.

Family was very important to Vera. She encouraged family to practice their Catholic faith and to attend church services. She especially cherished spending time with her grandchildren. Vera was always interested in her grandchildren’s activities and always encouraged them to study and work hard toward achieving their goals.

The family would like to thank Vera’s long time family physician Dr. N. Fontigny for her dedication and compassionate care over many years, as well as many thanks to Dr. D. Duerksen and Dr. B. Lukie for their exceptional care.  A big thank you goes out to Tuxedo Villa’s staff for looking after Vera for the short time she was able to reside there.  Thank you to the staff at St. Boniface Hospital for the care she received in her final days.

A private family service was held at Korban’s Funeral Chapel with Reverend Father Yaroslav Buduykevych officiating. The family wishes to thank Korban Funeral Chapel with the arrangements and for all their support.

Vera was a such a lover of animals and adored her great grand-dog Remy who will dearly miss her, so in lieu of flowers, a memorial donation can be made to Penny’s All Breed Animal Rescue (e-transfer to Pennyallbreedanimalrescue@gmail.com) or any animal rescue shelter of your choice.

VICHNAYA PAMYAT

 

 

Life Is But A Stopping Place

Life is but a stopping place,

A pause in what’s to be,

A resting place along the road,

To sweet eternity.

We all have different journeys,

Different paths along the way,

We all were meant to learn some things,

But never meant to stay…

Our destination is a place,

Far greater than we know.

For some the journey’s quicker,

For some the journey’s slow.

And when the journey finally ends,

We’ll claim a great reward,

And find an everlasting peace,

Together with the Lord.