CATHERINE LATOCKI

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

CATHERINE (KAY) LATOCKI Peacefully, with family by her side, Catherine (Kay) Latocki passed away at Tuxedo Villa on Friday, November 11, 2016. She was in her 100th year. She was predeceased by her husband Paul in 2009; her brother John Pawelko; her sisters Rose McBean, Anne Holmes, Nellie Aseltine, Mary Sitarz, and Jean Clay; her twin half-brothers Edward and Lawrence Pawelko; her nieces Kathleen (Kay) Brunner and Irene Sveinson; and her nephew Brian Latocki. She is lovingly remembered by her twin daughters Nancy and Barbara, her half-sister Antonina (Tenie) Herzog, her sister-in-law Hilda Chapman, and by her many nieces and nephews and their families. Mom was born in Beausejour, Manitoba on December 3, 1916, the sixth of seven children to Francis Pawelko and Agnes Kamieniec. She attended school up to the age of 16 and then, in September 1933, she followed her older sisters to Winnipeg where she found employment as a domestic. In October of 1942 she joined the war effort as a "Rosie the riveter" with MacDonald Brothers Aircraft Limited. There she made many lasting friendships and, most importantly, met her husband-to-be Paul Latocki. They were married three years later on September 29, 1945 and resided in the Weston area for the next 60 years. A full-time wife and mother, Kay was a very creative, curious and sociable person. Besides her hobbies of needlework, crafts and gardening, she was an avid reader of religion and philosophy and a constant follower of politics and current affairs on CNN. She attended Seniors Courses at the University of Winnipeg and enjoyed live theatre at MTC. When her daughters were growing up, she was involved with the Cecil Rhodes home and school association and was also active in her church. She belonged to the women's auxillary of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic parish and worked hard every year to make their teas and bazaars a success. On a more spiritual note, a trip to Rome and the Holy Land with her sister Jean in 1977 was a highlight of her life. Holiday-wise, Mom looked forward every year to our family's timeshare weeks at Clear Lake and was very happy to sit with her bag of books and not have to cook. In 2005 Mom's health and eyesight took a turn for the worse and Tuxedo Villa became her new home. We wish to thank the staff of Station 1 for the care, kindness and compassion that they showed towards her for the past eleven and a half years, and to acknowledge Cindy Bass for her stimulating music therapy sessions every Wednesday. Our thanks as well to the members of St. John Brebeuf parish who visited Mom regularly and gave her Holy Communion and a blessing. Mom's faith was very important to her. A service of remembrance will be conducted by Monseigneur Stan Jaworski at the Neil Bardal Funeral Centre, 3030 Notre Dame Ave., on Friday, November 18, 2016 at 2:30 p.m. Interment will follow at Brookside Cemetery. Flowers are gratefully declined, but if friends so wish, donations may be made in Mom's memory to a charity of their choice. "Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you." St. Thomas Aquinas NEIL BARDALFUNERAL CENTRE 204-949-2200 neilbardalinc.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 16, 2016