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FREDA GOLINOSKI (OLSON)  Obituary pic

FREDA GOLINOSKI (OLSON)

Born: Apr 03, 1912

Date of Passing: May 25, 2009

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FREDA GOLINOSKI (nee OLSON) Passed peacefully away at Winnipeg on Monday, May 25, 2009 in her 98th year. From the start Freda saw the odds were against her. She was born April 3, 1912 near Melville, Saskatchewan. Her father, Soren Olson, had died two months earlier in a flu epidemic. Her mother, Serine Olson/Tangen, died in the great Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. Five children were entrusted to various relatives and they never came together as a family after that. Freda lived with her uncle/godfather, Peter Erickson in Camrose, Alberta for four years before coming back to Melville. She was sent alone on the train with delivery instructions pinned to her coat. She spent the rest of her youth near Melville with her uncle-aunt Emil and Bertha Olson. And it was here that she met and married the only man who ever captured her attention, John Golinoski. John was the handsome and energetic hired man from a nearby farm. The first time John saw Freda he had said That's the girl I'm going to marry. When, subsequently, he came courting on weekends Freda could hear his singing and yodeling when he was still two miles away. But John was Roman Catholic and spoke Galician at home. Freda was an Evangelical Lutheran from a Norwegian speaking household. In the mid 1930s, in rural Saskatchewan, such people did not marry each other. But Freda saw no problem. Since there was little family to oppose them - they got married. There was the Depression, the drought, the dust. They had only eight years of formal education between them. There was no reliable family support. So they worked for other farmers or rented land. But when Freda recalled those times it was always with nostalgia. Life had been hard but it had not been bad. Three children were born at five-year intervals. Gradually life got easier. The family moved to New Westminster in the late 40s but farm life drew them back to the prairies. They farmed in the Alonsa district, moved to Portage la Prairie and eventually retired to Winnipeg. Freda's working life after the farm was entirely in the food services area -principally for the Armed Forces at Southport. She was an accomplished cook and baker. Freda's life exemplified many common-sense virtues. She had an indefatigable work ethic. Her personal integrity was never to be doubted. Her family, whether by blood or by association was the focal point of her interest. Her own life demonstrated a religious tolerance ahead of its time. Freda and John's co-equal marriage, was an intelligent and practical response to their particular circumstances and put them in the vanguard of gender equality. Freda was predeceased by her husband John (1986). In 2007 she lost her lifelong friend, Mildred Jackson - a friendship that thrived for 85 years. Freda is survived by her children Del, (June), Robert, and Darlene; grandchildren Rodney (Mandy), Dean (Shawn), Cheryl (Steve); great- grandchildren Delaynie, Logan, Rori, Kennedy and Parker: the Trout/Giesbrechts - Andy, Angie, Dallas, Tara, and Cole; and Allan Zaste. Donations made be made in her memory to a charity of choice. Memorial service at 1:00 p.m., Saturday, June 6, 2009 at Neil Bardal Inc., 3030 Notre Dame Avenue, across from Brookside Cemetery. NEIL BARDAL INC. 204-949-2200 nbardal.mb.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 03, 2009

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