DELORES WINNIFRED KILLEEN (WURMNEST) -

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DELORES WINNIFRED KILLEEN (nee WURMNEST) 1920 - 2014 Our dear Mother passed away Thursday, January 30, 2014 at the Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Blessed with longevity, Mother lived a never a dull moment' life. Born at home on a snowy night when doctors arrived by horse and cutter, growing up in Sperling, Manitoba with pioneer parents from Illinois (John and Daisy Wurmnest), side by side with loving sisters Leta and Sadie and brother Terry, Mother's character, courage and stamina were formed. As a young bride mother experienced the Second World War years alone in Winnipeg until Jack's return from overseas when the young couple settled into Sperling community life' raising five children: Tanis, Sheila, Phillip, Shelley and Tricia. Mother was a fun, funky lady and a very liberated thinker. Her smile lite up any room and her kind heart gave freely to anyone in need of a meal, rest, shoulder to lean on, or ear to listen. Tough if necessary, she was always guided by a sense of fairness and looked for the good in everyone. Family was top priority and her life grew so much richer with the addition of her 12 beautiful grandkids: Roxanne and Leslie Rummery, Tanya and Dana Killeen, McGuire, Karver and Kourtney Kaminsky, Baileigh, Kasey and Saxon-Laine Kaptein, Christian and Gracie Mann. Nine great-grandchildren were the icing on the cake for her: Sydney and Taylor Penn, Carson, Devyn and Paetyn Allaire, Paisley and Otto Anaka, Kashton and Kohen Kaptein. Mother baked jars of cookies for this bunch, taught the lucky ones her great dance moves, how to drive on dusty, country roads, and was famous through the years for her cartwheels on the front lawn. We will really miss those phone calls: "Hurry, hurry, look at the sky", "Quick, turn on the station for a great song" and the famous "You're not going out without lipstick, are you?" Mother was a real beauty and people often thought she was our sister'. Always gardening, Mom had beautiful gardens with helpful tips to share and in her later years when only her windowsill overflowed with all the plants she was nurturing she found great comfort and solace. An avid reader, she kept current while living her faith with a gentle, loving spirit. Fond family years at Winnipeg Beach, volunteering weekly for 25 years for CancerCare, filling her car with friends for adventures, chores or to go dancing, Mother was charismatic, fun, and a true friend. Futuristic and always more interested in what was going' to happen than looking back'. Mother loved her children's partners: Richard Rummery, Douglas Kaminsky, Joan (Duffy) Killeen, Ron Miller and David Mann. Her mottos: to never judge a book by its cover', lend a hand before you were asked', keep your word', and do the very best you can with what you are given', were lived out to her last days and they brought many interesting people to our dinner table through the years when she always had room for more. Proof of her strength, resourcefulness and determination was Mother living in her apartment until she was 93. July, 2013 she moved to Lions Manor Supportive Housing and the first thing on her list to pack was her huge picture of Elvis and when she passed away in the hospital...Elvis' gospel tunes were playing at her bedside. March 11, 2014 we would have been celebrating Mother's 94th birthday, instead, we will toast this great lady, be thankful for the memories she left us and of course Mother would want us to have fun, she LOVED having fun. Words found many times amongst Mother's books and papers, "This life for me is truly passed, I loved you all to the very last. Weep not for me, but courage take, and love one another for my sake." From your gang...You will be missed but never forgotten'. We stand on the shore not so bravely, with tears and wave her goodbye', but others smile as they watch her coming and gaily shout Hello hello' to greet her. For the extra, wonderful care our appreciation and thanks to: Elizabeth Morris, Margret Coquete and Lions Manor staff, Susan, Char and Dawn at Age In Place, Shahid Shams at Freedom in Home Medical Care, and Wojciks. A graveside celebration will be held at a warmer date. Donations in Delores' honour may be made to Winnipeg Harvest or Siloam Mission. Wojcik's Winnipeg Funeral Chapel & Crematorium, 2157 Portage Ave., 204-897-4665, is in care of arrangements. wojciksfuneralchapel.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 01, 2014