CYDNEY OLIVIA TROTT (BURRELL)

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CYDNEY OLIVIA TROTT (BURRELL) Following a valiant struggle with metastasized breast cancer, Cydney Trott died with grace and dignity on June 30, 2006, at her home in Winnipeg, aged 63. Cydney is survived by her two children, Grey Guindon and wife Amie, and Maggie Trott and partner John; his children, Luke and Brenna, and by their soon-to-be born child, her first grandchild; by her siblings, Rae Jessiman and Matthew Burrell; by her friend, Emily Mohr; and by her four nieces and their families. She was predeceased by her husband, Lee Trott, and by her parents Richard and Irma (Sturk) Burrell. Cydney was born in Winnipeg, MB, February 20, 1943, at St. Boniface Hospital where her father was a surgeon and later Chief-of-Staff. She spent the first eleven years of her life living on Kingston Crescent, attending Windsor Park School. After moving to 115 WestGate in 1954 Cydney attended Balmoral Hall School. A great brain as well as a great beauty, she took Junior Matriculation in Grade XI at age sixteen and left that Fall to attend University as far away as her father would allow her to go the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. At U of M she took a B.A. in English and the Humanities, discovered a passion for bridge and opera and became a great fan of mystery novels. Her thirst for knowledge and will to travel kept her away from her birthplace from the ages of sixteen to thirty. During this time she lived in Minneapolis, Newfoundland, and New York City; she toured Europe and the Middle East and lived for a winter in England. She married at 20, and again at 23, and though both marriages ended with divorce she remained great good friends with both ex-husbands. At age 27, living in Minneapolis, married to cartoonist Richard Guindon, she gave birth to Grey, and thus began what she called the greatest role of her life - motherhood. She was a sympathetic, marvelous, lioness of a mother. She often said that the Prairie was in her blood and in 1973, aged 30, Cydney returned to Winnipeg. Not long thereafter her father passed away and she moved out to the property he had built in Cook's Creek, The Farm'. Love for her children and the farm shaped the rest of her life. In 1977 she married Lee Trott and gave birth to daughter Maggie. Lee's death in 1980 was a profound loss, but despite this loss Cydney and her children spent many happy years in Cook's Creek, interspersed with carefully plotted car-trips all over North America. An innate mathematician, Cydney became a financial planner in the mid-80's and remained in the financial business until her retirement early in 2004. She spent much of the latter years of her life lovingly caring for her mother. Less than a year after Irma's passing, and just as her horizons had widened once more, she unfortunately became ill herself. Cydney tried early to find the right term for her struggle with breast cancer, and after much deliberation decided that she would surmount' cancer. In many ways she did. She examined her life, her dreams, her values and goals and came to better understand herself both spiritually and physically. She pursued every Western therapy she could, and Eastern ones as well. Her children thank her for being such a courageous role model. In the end, her cancer was diagnosed too late to be vanquished, and her death ought to send a strong message that early detection is the greatest shield in the fight against breast cancer. Her children would like to thank the many wonderful friends who made her life rich and varied. Also, they would like to thank Dr. Ethel MacIntosh and Dr. Marianne Krahn, Heather Davies, R.N., all the nurses in the Chemo Room at CancerCare at St. Boniface, Chin Chu, and Dr. Lim for their treatment of Cydney. They would like to thank Irene Shapira and Dr. Stephen Coyle for their compassionate talks with Cydney. Her children are planning a celebration in honour of Cydney's life on October 28, 2006, details to follow. In lieu of flowers they invite donations in her memory to the St. Boniface Hospital and Research Foundation and to the Winnipeg Humane Society. Her daughter, Maggie Trott, will also be walking in Cydney's honour in the Toronto CIBC Run for the Cure to raise funds for breast cancer research, donations may be made online at www.cibcrunforthecure.com

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 08, 2006