MARY EILEEN DECK

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

MARY EILEEN DECK September 26, 1935 - December 31, 2015 Eileen was born at the Regina General Hospital in Regina, Saskatchewan. Several weeks short of her eighth birthday, her mother passed away in 1943. Thanks to the generous and compassionate acceptance of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, Eileen's father was initially able to keep his four daughters together at the Sacred Heart Academy in Regina, a Roman Catholic convent boarding school run by this order of nuns; while her brother went to a boarding school for boys in Moose Jaw, run by the Sisters of Charity of St. Louis. From the fall of l951 to December 1952, Eileen and her sisters lived at the convent boarding school in Sedley, Saskatchewan, run by the Sisters of Loretto. During some of the 10 years living in the convent, Eileen became a "caregiver and mother" to her younger sisters. As a young teenager, she was a nanny/babysitter for the Cullum family during several summers at Regina Beach. It was during these summers that she honed her caregiving skills and became an accomplished swimmer, often traversing the lake, a distance of six kms. She loved music and was an accomplished pianist (grade 9) and organist. Eileen went almost directly from living in the convent to living in residence at the Regina General Hospital School of Nursing in January, 1954, until her graduation in May of 1957. Besides her love of nursing, she enjoyed baking, canning, sewing, and in her relaxation time spent many quiet hours with her petit-point creating works of art. It was in Sedley where she first met her best friend and love of her life Gordon Deck. Eileen married Gordon on January 19, 1957. In 1966 Eileen and family moved to Winnipeg where she was hired at the Grace General Hospital in 1967, and in 1969 became Nursing Supervisor until her retirement from the Grace in May 1993. All who knew Eileen can attest to her great sense of humour, exceptional organization skills, dedication, compassion, and her ability to listen with genuine concern and empathy. She gave of herself untiringly and unconditionally, never asking for anything in return. Eileen touched the lives of so many and we are all better people for having her in our lives. She was predeceased by her parents Michael and Anne Carroll, and husband Gordon. Eileen will be dearly missed by her sons Drew (Monica), Mike (Sandee), daughters Leslie (Brian), Tracey (Martin) Rakar; grandchildren Martin (Tammy), Kevin (Zhairyl), Dustin (Shirley), Devon, Danielle (Jeff), Ryan (Marnie), Adam, Matthew and Hannah; and great-grandchildren, Jackson, Zoe, Mackenzie, Claire, Jasper, Gibson and Caryl. Eileen will also be lovingly remembered by her brother Danny (Marion), sisters Margie (Wayne), Lillian, and Helen, many nieces and nephews, and extended family, Andrea, and Jesse. We greatly appreciate the Grace Hospital staff's care and kindness for Mom this past October and November. The family would like to thank the staff at Victoria General Hospital for the care and support. The funeral service will be held at Chapel Lawn, 4000 Portage Ave., Thursday, January 7 at 2:00 p.m. A private interment will be at Chapel Lawn where she will be laid to rest beside her husband Gordon. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Grace Hospital Foundation: http://www.gracehospitalfoundation.ca/ For those who wish to sign the online Guest Book please visit our website. Chapel Lawn www.chapellawn.ca 204-885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 05, 2016