JOAN MARGARET ROOKE / WIZBICKI (COOKE)

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JOAN MARGARET ROOKE / WIZBICKI (nee COOKE) September 10, 1932 - March 2, 2006 A failing heart quietly took Joan's body, on March 2, while at her new home in Kelowna. The patience, faithfulness, consideration and heart she sowed among family and friends will be with us always. If you were blessed to be one of her five children (Kathryn, Gregg, Sheila, David and Geraldine) or Nana's 13 grandchildren, your worries, successes, frustrations and dreams became the passion and purpose of her life. If you needed attention, a little money or just a sandwich, she would offer unconditionally. The only daughter of Rose Anne and Jack Cooke, Bolognie Joanie grew up forming strong ties to her cousins in Winnipeg and at their grandparents homestead in Whitemouth, MB. Joanie had many wonderful friendships, her dear friends, Connie and Sheila, remained loyal and loving for over 60 years. As a young girl, she wanted to attend Carleton University and become a journalist - an ambition she put aside to become a wife and mother. A hard-working servant of the Lord, she surrendered her concerns in prayer, plenty...she had a strong faith in Jesus Christ, whom she met at St. Michael and All Angels Church at the age of nine. During her life, Joan dedicated herself to the care and comfort of her two husbands (Victor Wizbicki and Alfred Rooke), as well as her beloved Mum. To support her family, after Victor passed in 1974, Mom picked up a pricing gun for Beaver Lumber Ltd. at 90 cents an hour. Before retiring as office manager, she was loyal to the Pembina and Stafford store for 22 years including a time as the Canadian company's first woman purchaser. Joan and Alfie delighted most in hosting family reunions and entertaining friends at Cornerstone - their cottage near Arnes. Over coffee or glass of wine, Mom's laughter over her own stories, silly songs or fouled-up punchlines, made us one and gave us a home. In a cottage food fight, she wasn't above hurling a mean marshmallow either. A confident writer and public speaker, Joan captured her memories of trips throughout North America and the U.K. in logbooks that read like restaurant reviews. To Mom, good food was the good life. As her kids and grandkids scattered to opposite ends of the country, Nana became one of the airline's best customers with many visits to Montreal and the west coast. An author she admired, Leo Buscaglia wrote, You can give away all of your love and still have exactly what you started with. Loved ones will celebrate and honour Joan, March 16, 11:00 a.m. at St. Michael and All Angels Church, 300 Hugo St., North. Interment to follow at Garry Memorial, 1291 McGilllivray Blvd. Arrangements by SPRINGFIELD FUNERAL HOME LTD. (250) 860-7077.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 11, 2006