ROSE HELEN SAWKA

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ROSE HELEN SAWKA (nee BARTA) On the evening of September 5, 2015 our beloved wife, mother, baba, sister, aunt and friend, Rose Helen Sawka, passed away at the age of 75 after a lengthy battle with cancer at Health Sciences Centre, with her loving family at her side. Rose was predeceased by her parents Julia and Stanley, her beloved son Mitchell, and siblings Nellie, Frank, Mary and Stanley. Rose is survived by her husband Michael Rogers, children Debbie (Rick), Stephen, Catherine and Shari (Brant); grandchildren Peggysue, Selena, Shauna, Amber, Stephen, Carly, Curtis, Stephanie, Frankie, Paul, Gerald and Brooke; several great-grandchildren; two sisters Stella and Jean; numerous nieces and nephews, and four stepchildren. Rose was born and raised in Hadashville, MB and worked many years in the restaurant industry. In Winnipeg Rose worked several years at Reeds where she met Mike. In her early years, Rose's house was filled with music and laughter because Rose loved to sing and prided herself in her ability to yodel - she would often be singing with her sister Jean. Rose loved country music! Mom loved to have a good time and if it was fun, you would find her doing it at the expense of rest! Rose loved to play games, especially card games. She would play "double deck" to the wee hours of the morning and would drive many miles to do so, regardless of the weather! Mom also loved to play bingo and go to casinos. Rose had many dear friends that she cherished (you know who you are!) and she loved to do all those things with them - those events were always full of smiles and laughter! Rose also loved to 5 pin bowl and played in several leagues with her daughter Debbie. Rose wanted her kids to make decisions for themselves, and Stephen's decision to own a motorcycle was one that gave her several premature grey hairs! One of her proudest moments was of Cathy achieving a degree in education. Rose also loved baseball and Rose and Mike rarely missed any of Shari's baseball games. Mom loved the great outdoors and had an affinity for water - she loved to swim and quite enjoyed boat rides at the cottage. Rose loved to go on road trips with Mike and flying off to Vegas. She really enjoyed touring around the casinos in Vegas with Mike on their "duelling scooters". Christmas time was always fun and loud considering the size of the family Rose had a hand in creating. Mom was an excellent cook. Of course Christmas always included the perogies that were handmade with love, by her and Auntie Stella - they'd often make 100 dozen in a day (150 dozen if Auntie Mary was there too)! Rose's spirit was bright and she had a great sense of humour considering everything that was occurring in her body. Rose was a strong woman in every sense of the word. A tremendous void has been left with her passing. Such a vibrant life force - it's unbelievable that she's gone - we already miss her immensely! Rose's family would like to sincerely thank Dr. A. Chowdhury for the stellar care for Rose and support for her family over the past four and a half years - he treated us all like his own family and we so appreciated it! Thanks to Dr. M. Ainslie for helping her breathe easier. We'd also like to thank Dr. Faiez AlShafa for his amazing care and concern and going above and beyond for Rose and family in her final weeks, and to Dr. Kate Johnson and to all the staff on RR6. In keeping with Rose's wishes, cremation has already occurred and there will be no formal service - Rose didn't think they were fun! In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory towards lung cancer at CancerCare Manitoba, - 1160-675 McDermot Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3E 0V9.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 12, 2015