JO-ANNE LORRAINE MARIE WILLIAMS

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JO-ANNE LORRAINE MARIE WILLIAMS Died peacefully of cancer at the age of 68 at Riverview Health Centre, Palliative Care Unit on Wednesday morning, December 20, 2017. Jo-Anne was predeceased by her father Charles in 1986, her mother Lorraine (née Bourbonnais) in 2008, a younger brother, Edward in 1954. She is survived by her siblings: brothers, Robert and wife, Sheila of Toronto; Brian and wife, Carla Kehler, of Winnipeg; sisters, Jacqueline and husband Robert Wetmiller of Ottawa, Ontario; Elaine and husband Ken Parke of Grande Prairie, Alberta; and sister Maureen and ex-husband Peter of Winnipeg. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews in Toronto and Winnipeg; uncles Jean, Louis and wife June, Denis (OMI) of Winnipeg, and Philippe Bourbonnais of Laval, Québec. Of special mention is Maria Tan, a life-long, supportive, warm friend whom Jo-Anne loved dearly. Jo-Anne was born in Winnipeg, October 23, 1949. She attended école du Sacré-Coeur in her formative years, and under the guidance and instruction of the Grey nuns, graduated with an LPN nursing certificate in 1970. She continued her education and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Manitoba in 1995. When she was unable to continue her nursing career due to severe back pain, she enrolled in and graduated with a Business Certificate in accounting from Red River Community College. She worked at Revenue Canada from 1988 to 2003 and was forced into an early retirement resulting from back injuries. She particularly enjoyed her summers at the cottage, first at St. Laurent Beach, and later at Twin Beaches, Manitoba. She participated in many competitive and lively sessions at the bridge table with her family and as a result, nephews and nieces have never played bridge since. She was an avid reader of her faith. Her most important legacy was to show her love and loyalty to family and friends through her faith in Jesus as a devout catholic. She travelled to Italy and New Mexico in her search to find where God needed her most. She returned to Winnipeg and devoted her life to volunteering in various parishes; St. Ignatius, St. Bernadette, Holy Redeemer, St. Timothy. She was involved particularly at St. Amant, at Taché Nursing Home and Foyer Valade to name but a few and participated in prayer groups from 1971 to 2011. She had a great love of music and greatly enjoyed being an active member of various church choirs. She was the bearer of many hidden acts of generosity and kindness towards others with an unflagging courage and faith to face life's challenges. The Williams family extends its sincere gratitude to the staff of the Palliative Care Unit at Riverview Health Centre for the love, care and comfort they provided. Interment of ashes and prayers will be held at her parents gravesite in the Spring or Summer of 2018. She was not a big fan of Winnipeg's cold. A funeral mass officiated by Curé Marcel Carrière, and her uncle Denis Bourbonnais OMI will be held at la cathédrale de Saint-Boniface, Friday, December 29, 2017 at 10:30 a.m. A Dieu, merçi

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 23, 2017