MURIEL JOAN (ROONEY) MCMORRIS -

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MURIEL JOAN (ROONEY) MCMORRIS 1921 - 2007 Peacefully and after a lengthy illness, our mother and grandmother Joan McMorris passed away in Winnipeg on July 3, 2007. She leaves to mourn, her four loving children, Eileen, Ivan (Penny), Evelyn (Dave), and Ruthie (Dwayne); ten cherished grandchildren, Rory, Dylan, Adrian and Grace McMorris, Ben, Colin and Daniel Russell, and Rika, Deidre and Samantha Beck; two sisters, Audrey Bagley (Victoria) and Dorothy Babbitt (Ottawa), and numerous nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Lawrence Samuel, her brother Robert, her sister Lorna, and her parents, Dorothy and Joseph Rooney. Joan was born in Toronto on June 27, 1921 and grew up in Victoria. At the start of the Second World War she joined the federal civil service and did tours of duty in Ottawa, Washington, Mexico, Moscow, and London. She met Sam in Moscow in 1949 and they married in London, England in 1951. They moved to Neepawa, MB in 1952 and to Winnipeg in 1956. Joan was active at home as her children grew up with all their activities and also in the community with volunteer work, in particular with the United Church Women at St. Andrew's United Church. Joan and Sam enjoyed many summer camping trips across Canada with their family, but the bulk of their summers were spent at their cottage at Victoria Beach, where they enjoyed many wonderful summers watching their family grow up. They also opened their cottage to extended family and friends over the years. After their children left home Joan and Sam continued with their travels in Canada and they also began to travel farther afield again: to Britain and Europe, Mexico, USA, New Zealand and in 1988 to Nairobi, Kenya for three months. Joan enjoyed visiting her sisters and friends in Victoria and Ottawa every couple of years, and later also her grandchildren in Guelph and South Dakota. She joined the Craft Guild and made numerous handmade gifts for her family and other people over the years. Joan especially enjoyed being a grandmother. She was always very generous to her grandchildren and was a big part of their lives as they grew up. She attended their activities whenever possible and always made sure her home was a place where they could find games to play, movies to watch and food to eat. The family would like to take this opportunity to especially thank the kind and capable staff at Tuxedo Villa who helped to care for Joan for the past three years and also to family and friends for their love and friendship during Joan's life. Many people took time, during the last period of her life to stop and visit, or write her with cheerful words. These thoughtful actions were greatly appreciated by Joan and her family. At her request, cremation has taken place and a memorial service will be held by Rev. Janet Walker at Victoria Beach Community Church on Monday, July 9 at 4:00 p.m. Reception will follow at the family cottage. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Joan's memory to a charity of personal choice. LECLAIRE BROTHERS in care of arrangements. 775-2220.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 06, 2007