DEBORAH JANICE WASYLOWSKI (TZAR)

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

DEBORAH JANICE WASYLOWSKI (nee TZAR) September 23, 1956 - July 31, 2010 On Saturday, July 31, 2010 with her family by her side, Deborah passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. Deborah will be forever missed by her husband of 30 years, Garry, her children Felicia (Stewart) and Brent, her parents Joe and Diane Tzar, her father-in-law and mother-in-law Peter and Evelyn Wasylowski, her sisters-in-law Elaine Gordon and Grace (Grant) Rogoski, her nieces and nephews Chad, Cody, Marlee, Tyler and Brittany, her godchildren Ashley Hallow and Travis Persoage, as well as numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. Deborah was born and raised in Winnipeg. She attended classes in ballet, Ukrainian dance, accordion, cathechism, charm school, tennis, swimming and trumpet. Deborah discovered her love for photography when she became employed at Winnipeg Photo after high school and used an entire paycheque to purchase her first camera, a 35mm Yashica. This love continued throughout her life, as she always had a camera with her and was easily sidetracked by a sunrise, cloud formation, spider web or anything else that caught her eye. Her photos were published in Cattle Country and won awards at the Arborg Summer Fair. At the age of 17, she was a bridesmaid in her uncle's wedding and it was there she first danced with a guy by the name of Garry. They crossed paths again and began dating in 1977. Eventually Garry proposed marriage and they were married on May 24, 1980. They moved to Garry's grandparent's farm just west of Fraserwood and Deborah continued to commute to her job at Winnipeg Photo for a short time until they chose to start a family. Deborah and Garry had a beautiful baby daughter, Felicia, in August 1981 and Deborah knew she wanted to stay at home to raise her family. In October 1984, their handsome son, Brent was born. Deborah was a stay-at-home Mom until both her children were in school, and then began her work in the restaurant industry which she continued for the next 20 years. Deborah was so very proud of her children and always made time for them, taking them both to Ukrainian dance lessons, Felicia to ballet classes and Brent to hockey and baseball. Family holidays were spent taking the kids to dance competitions, baseball and hockey tournaments. She organized bus trips to Vegreville, AB for the Teulon Veselka Dance Club and took Brent to his Junior A hockey tryouts in Humboldt, SK. She happily served on Board of Directors for Veselka for many years and helped to organize their annual dance competitions from the beginning. Deborah was addicted to watching Coronation Street and was glad when Stewart joined our family and could translate all the British slang for her. She loved quad rides through the farm in the summer with her husband and her camera, as this is when she was able to take so many of her amazing photos. She enjoyed spending time outside planting flowers and taking walks with Chynna dog, and her cats Lucy and Simba. But above all else she enjoyed spending time at home with her family and was happiest when all her birdies were in the nest. And through all her battles over the past six weeks, she still wanted to hear all about her children's daily adventures and was comforted to have her family close by. Momma will always be our hero. Her family would like to thank the nurses at the Health Sciences Centre and Dr. Aljfari at Gimli Community Health Centre. A very special thank you to the nursing staff at Gimli Community Health Centre for the care, patience and support you provided to Mom and our entire family. A celebration of Deborah's life will take place on Thursday, August 5 at 2:00 p.m. at the Fraserwood Community Hall in Fraserwood, MB. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Deborah's memory to the Fraserwood Community Hall. Gilbart Funeral Home, Gimli in care of arrangements. www.gilbartfuneralhome.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 04, 2010