ANITA ANNE GROOM (HLADY)

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ANITA ANNE GROOM (nee HLADY) Anita Anne Groom (nee Hlady), 86, loving wife of Bruce and devoted mother of sons Rick, Larry and Stacey, passed away peacefully at the Tuxedo Villa Personal Care Home on the evening of Friday, October 12, 2012. She is survived by her adoring husband Bruce; devoted sons Rick, Larry and Stacey; their loving wives Chris, Leslie and Sharon; and treasured grandchildren Thomas, Jonathon, Lauren, Laina and Brendan plus numerous nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. On April 5, 1926 Anita Anne (or Honya in Ukrainian) Hlady was born in East Kildonan to George and Maria Hlady who originally came to Canada from Ukraine some years before. Anita's father was a factory worker at Swift's Meat Packing Plant in Winnipeg. Her mother was a proud, hardworking woman, faithful wife and homemaker. For Anita, Maria and George were always known as Baba' and Guido' as they are, in fact, remembered to this day by family and their many friends in the neighbourhood and throughout Winnipeg. Anita was one of six children; including her older brothers Walter and John, older sister Molly and younger brothers Don and Paul - all of whom predeceased her. She cherished memories of growing up in their warm, cozy and, at times, crowded home on Ottawa Avenue. Blessed with great physical beauty, and a true, one-of-a-kind personality that was equal parts passion, patience, perseverance and grace; she will long be remembered for her genuine love of people, her unforgettable sense of humour and her gifts for listening and storytelling. Over the years, Anita never tired of sharing tales from her life with her husband, siblings, children and grandchildren - especially how her mother Maria carefully fed the baby chicks that kept warm beneath the wood-burning stove in their kitchen. This and other treasured episodes were lovingly recounted by Anita over many a festive feast of home-cooked perogies, roast pork, halobchis, kolbassa and keysta soup which always brought the Groom and Hlady clans together for Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, anniversaries and birthdays. While working as a clerk at Eaton's downtown mail order department, Anita first met and soon married the ever-persistent and smitten-to-this-day Bruce Groom in 1948. Two years later, Anita and Bruce moved to live and work in the Big City of Toronto. Not long afterward, the couple agreed that they really belonged back home in Winnipeg'. So they returned in 1953. During this time they moved into their first home on Craig Street and later, on Dearborn Avenue - where they enthusiastically welcomed their first-born, Rick, to the world. Five years later, their son Larry arrived as did their youngest son Stacey in 1963. All three boys grew up in what ultimately became the Groom family residence on Conway Street in St. James for 50 years. In the decades that followed, Anita and Bruce were proud and delighted to see their three sons graduate from high school and attend university and college, start their careers, marry and put down roots of their own - all within walking distance of one another in Silver Heights. Among Anita's many life-long loves were family vacations and shopping. Over the years, she enjoyed their frequent trips to Grand Beach, Victoria Beach, Matlock, Grand Forks, Fargo and Minneapolis together with those very special times when she and Bruce travelled to Europe, England, Scotland and Wales where they toured the amazing cities of London, Edinburgh, Paris, Amsterdam, Venice and Rome and their lovely, surrounding countrysides. A list of Anita's favourite things would have to include spending quiet quality time with her husband and grandkids and their dogs, cuddling babies, Italian food at the Paradise Restaurant, clothes and shoes, reading bestsellers and Hello! magazine, savouring her favourite movies like Casablanca, The Godfather, The Commitments, Educating Rita, Fabulous Baker Boys, Quick Change, The Russians Are Coming, It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and, of course ... British TV - especially Coronation Street and EastEnders. She also loved collecting decorative ornaments, dancing and enjoying the music of her precious Herb Alpert, Bert Kampfert, Matt Monro, Tom Jones, Helmut Lotti, the BeeGees and - Mama Mia! - Abba. In 2002 while dutifully tending her beloved backyard flowerbeds, Anita suffered a stroke. In recent years, her capacity to verbally communicate diminished, but not her love of family, friends, life and the world around her. As this condition and her physical health took an unfortunate downturn, Anita became a patient of the Tuxedo Villa Personal Care Home - where she received the very best in care by the dedicated, attentive staff at station 3 - especially Edna, Louise and Bev. In compliance with Anita's wishes, there will be no Funeral Service. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests that mourners make donations in her honour to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, 200 - 6 Donald Street, Winnipeg, MB R3L 0K6. Wojcik's Funeral Chapel is in care of arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Oct 20, 2012