HELEN ZUCHOWSKI

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HELEN ZUCHOWSKI May 24, 1913 December 12, 2007 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Helen Zuchowski on Wednesday, December 12, 2007 at the Victoria General Hospital. Born to Jacob R. and Maria Friesen in Steinbach, Manitoba, Helen was the fifth of seven children. After the death of her mother in 1937, Helen remained at home to look after the household until 1944 when her father remarried. Helen joined the Mennonite Central Committee and began working in Akron, Pennsylvania. In October of 1947, she traveled to Germany where she organized clothing distribution and food packages to returned prisoners of war. In Schleswig-Holstein, she managed a project that served eight different camps with as many as 1500 families in each. She served a total of six years with the MCC. On returning to Canada, she took a secretarial job with the Winnipeg Clinic. Following a tragic accident involving her brother-in-law, Walter Giesbrecht, in 1957, she moved in with her sister Betty and two nephews, James and Richard. In 1959 she met her husband Ted Zuchowski and married him the following year. Shortly after, the couple moved to North Battleford, Saskatchewan where they lived until 1963. They then returned to Winnipeg. Music, playing the piano and singing were always an important part of Helen's life. In later years, Helen began oil painting, a hobby she enjoyed until her sight failed in her late eighties. Her adventurous spirit and passion for travel led her, along with her husband, Ted, to explore many parts of the world. Upon the death of Ted in 2003, Helen was cared for by her nieces and nephews. In addition to her husband, Helen was predeceased by her sisters Marie (Bill Wiebe), Catherine, Anne (Frank Sawatzky) and Betty (Walter Giesbrecht), her brother Edwin (Olga Friesen) and niece Louise Spafford Hill. Left to remember her are brother Bill (Donna) Friesen and numerous nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, December 15, 2007 at the Bethesda Church, 1350 Grant Avenue at Oxford with a reception in the church hall. Interment will be Tuesday, December 18 at 11:00 a.m. at the Glen Lawn Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Helen's memory to the Mennonite Central Committee, 134 Plaza Drive, Fort Garry, Manitoba, R3T 5K9. Arrangements entrusted to: GLEN LAWN FUNERAL HOME 455 LAGIMODIERE BLVD. 982-7550

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 14, 2007