EMILY JOYCE BLACK (ZEPA)

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EMILY JOYCE BLACK (nee ZEPA) It is with heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, Emily Black. On Saturday, November 13, 2010, with family at her side, Emily passed away peacefully at Country Meadows Personal Care Home in Neepawa, MB. Emily was born on August 18, 1922 to Joseph and Annie Zepa of Horod, MB. Her father passed away when she was five years old, leaving her mother to raise her brother Frank, sisters Lena, Jean and Muriel. She and her siblings were raised on a farm near Horod where they attended school and enjoyed many happy years. At a very early age, she was faced with the challenges of growing up with many hardships pertaining to the 1930s. Her father Joseph donated land for the construction of Horod's first school. This school still exists and is now a museum and a designated heritage site in Manitoba. Emily attended this school and was able to complete the ninth grade, at which time she had to leave home in search of employment. During her academic years, she received an award of excellence for her reading skills. She was extremely proud of this award and continued to enjoy reading throughout her life. After the Second World War, she met up with an old friend who had just returned home from the war following four years of imprisonment in Hong Kong. Emily married Michael Black of Horod on February 16, 1946. Together they raised three children Dianne, Murray and Kelly. Their life began on a farm near Horod. In 1952, they moved to Elphinstone where they purchased a service station which became Black's Service Station for many years. They were both very involved with military organizations and were lifetime members of the Royal Canadian Legion and the Hong Kong Veterans Association. For years, Emily was a member of the Elphinstone Ladies Curling Club, the Legion Ladies Auxiliary and the Ukrainian Catholic Women's League of Canada. In each organization, she held various executive positions and participated over and above her line of duty. She enjoyed curling, fishing, bowling, gardening and camping. Her family will always remember her passion for bingo. She also took great pride in her apple pies as baking was one of her greatest talents. From an early age, she had tremendous faith in the Lord and instilled this same faith in her children and grandchildren. Emily was proud of her Ukrainian heritage which she has passed on to her family. In 1979, Mike and Emily moved to Dauphin, Manitoba where they retired and enjoyed many happy years together. During this time, they traveled to many parts of the world until the death of her husband in 1991. She persevered and continued to live in Dauphin for another ten years. In 2002, she moved to Neepawa where she could be closer to her family. The Kinsmen Kourts were her new home where she made some wonderful friends and could easily walk across the street to play bingo. In 2006, her health deteriorated and she made a decision to move into a personal care home where she could be cared for and be safe. Emily was a remarkable woman with great strength and perseverance who maintained her sense of humour and loving personality through all her trials and tribulations. We have truly been blessed to have her in our lives. She was predeceased by her parents Joseph and Annie Zepa, husband Mike, three sisters and brothers-in-law, Lena and Peter Nychek, Jean and Peter Bachewich, Muriel and Walter Brazanski, brother Frank and sister-in-law Rose Zepa. Emily leaves to cherish her loving memory her three children: Dianne (Len) Kashton of Regina, SK, Murray (Glennis) Black of Neepawa, MB, Kelly (Trent) Gruenke of Winnipeg, MB; six grandchildren: Darryl (Paula) Kashton, Regina SK, Leanne (Scott) Weinkauf, Cold Lake, AB, Leah (Glenn) Miller, Norway House, MB, Tom Black, Calgary, AB, Kyler and Jennessa Gruenke, Winnipeg, MB. She is also survived by eight great-grandchildren: Eric and Ryan Kashton, Aiden, Carsten and Alyssa Weinkauf, and Cole, Greg and Miles Miller. To honour her memory, and if friends so desire, donations may be made to The War Amps of Canada (Child Amputee Program), 2827 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, ON or to the Horod Cemetery Maintenance Fund, Box 103 Sandy Lake, MB. Funeral service will be held on Wednesday, November 17, at 11:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Neepawa, MB, corner of Mountain Avenue and Elizabeth. Rev. Fr. Emil Kardasinec officiating. Interment to follow at Horod Cemetery. White's Funeral Home in care of arrangements, 476-2848.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 16, 2010