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- With tears we mourn her passing; yet with smiles we remember her always.
Peacefully, on Sunday, November 5, 2017, Irene Maksymetz passed away at St. Boniface Hospital at the age of 87 years.
Irene was born July 5, 1930 to William and Anna Sydor. She attended Tartakiw and Kolomyja public schools and Grandview High School. In 1949, she left for Toronto where she was employed for one year in a sportswear sewing factory. Irene married Walter J. Maksymetz on July 27th, 1950 in Gilbert Plains. They then returned to Toronto for a brief period. In 1951, Irene and Walter bought their first family farm in the Gilbert Plains Municipality. Their successful grain farming career spanned over 40 years taking them to retirement in 1991 and their move to Dauphin, Manitoba. After Walter's passing, Irene remained in her home in Dauphin until the spring of 2017, when she moved to Winnipeg to be closer to her family.
Nothing made Mom/Baba more proud than to see her children and grandchildren learn and succeed through hard work and determination. Her greatest joy were her grandchildren and great-grandson and she beamed with pride and happiness during their visits.
Irene served on the boards of the Veselka Dance Club in Gilbert Plains and St. Michael's Ukrainian Catholic Church in Venlaw, and was a member of the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League. She was avid bowler and enjoyed curling. She keenly enjoyed watching baseball and curling as armchair sports.
The circle of family and friends extended near and far. Irene and Walter were host to many great gatherings at the farm. Entertaining was also a pleasure in her retirement years and the door was always open to happily share her wonderful baking, cooking, preserves and of course her home-made Kubasa. Irene enjoyed gardening, sewing, knitting, crafting, picking wild mushrooms - pidpenky, a friendly game of cards, keeping up with current events and sharing a joke.
During retirement, Irene and Walter traveled to England, Cuba, Bahamas, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Ukraine and from coast to coast in North America. The trips to Ukraine were especially memorable having being able to strengthen the ties and visit with family.
Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Brenda (Fr. Gregory Mielnik) and Cheryl (Kevin Nichols); her nine grandchildren Kathryn (Thomas Siozos), Pam (Morgan Lekstrom), Matthew and Jessica Johnson, Danylo and Jacob Mielnik, Blake, Eric and Lauren Nichols: and great-grandson Alexander Siozos; and son-in-law Terry Johnson. She is also survived by her sisters: Shirley (the late William Choma), Donna (Orest Romaniuk)and Jeanette (Gordon Clyde) and sister-in-law Adeline (Mike Solypa) and as well as many nieces, nephews, extended family and friends. Irene was predeceased by her loving husband Walter J. (2003), daughter Connie (2011), parents William and Anna Sydor, sister Walda and brother Walter.
Donations in memory of Irene may be made to a charity of one's choice.
If Roses grow in Heaven
Lord, please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.
Tell her that I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for awhile.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it every day,
but there's an ache within my heart
that will never go away.
Vichnaya Pamyat - Memory Eternal!
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Jerry and Margaret Yacyshen Family
1930 - 2017 (87 years)
