BEVERLY ELIZABETH ANNE MUZYK (ELCOMBE)

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BEVERLY ELIZABETH ANNE MUZYK
(nee Elcombe)

Early in the morning on January 4, 2022, we lost an amazing mom, sister, daughter, grandma, aunt, and friend. She was a lady known for her kindness, volunteerism, her friendly chats, humbleness and a laugh that you could recognize across the room. She always loved the hunt for a good bargain (especially in Grand Forks), talking about food, and most of all, her grandchildren.
Beverly was born in Winnipeg on July 9, 1952 to Mable and Ray Elcombe. She is survived by daughters, Kerry-Ann (Rob Perkins) and Sheryl (Stuart McCorrister); sister Linda (Fernando Melizza), brother Jim Elcombe (Irene), mother Mable Elcombe, and many nephews and nieces including Kayla and Jenna (whom she was like a mother to), CJ, Tyler, Jesse. She will always and forever be remembered and loved by her grandchildren, Nathan, Alice, Annika and Xavier.  Bev was predeceased by her father Raymond Elcombe and partner Doug Smith.

Bev grew up in St. Vital and spent many summers traveling with her family across Canada on the train including to Expo '67 in Montreal.
Following high school, Bev attended the University of Manitoba and graduated with a degree in Home Economics. During this time, she met a group of special individuals who became incredible lifelong friends.
After marrying Richard Muzyk, Bev dedicated her life to her daughters. Kerry and Sheryl will always look back at their childhood, and Bev is a large part of their memories from camping in the mountains, summers in Matlock, the way friends were always welcomed into the house at any time. They fondly remember all the bus trips downtown to shop at the Bay and Eaton's. Every adventure ended with a trip to the candy counter in Eaton's basement to choose "go home snacks" for the ride home! Bev did so much to make her girls happy. One particular memory is a trip to Hawaii in the early 80s where despite all the amazing restaurant selections, they consistently dined at Denny's because that's what her daughters wanted.
One thing Bev will be remembered for is her volunteerism. If someone needed help, Bev was always willing to give her time for others. She could always be counted on to make "fancy sandwiches" and help organize and work at the big family "do's". Even when invited as a guest she could be found helping clean up afterwards. Bev was a regular volunteer for many years at her children's elementary school and spent the majority of her time helping in the library. She went on to volunteer for the Hot Lunch program at her grandchildren's school as well. She was a longtime volunteer at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Company ushering every "First Friday" from the mid 70s until the theatre temporarily closed in the Spring of 2020. She passed on this tradition to her daughters as the three of them ushered together for over 20 years. Bev spent many years canvassing her neighbourhood for causes such as the Manitoba Cancer Society and the Heart and Lung Foundation, and was a Brownie leader in the community for many years. From the late 80s up to her illness, Bev was a selfless volunteer in the local political community and she often shared many fond memories of these times.
In the 90s, Bev began working at the Manitoba Film Classification Board. She was a "people person" and enjoyed interacting with the rotating Board Members each week. It was through this position that she met Doug and found happiness. She worked here until her retirement in 2017. Bev enjoyed travelling the world with her good friends Val, Sharni, and Barb. She loved to reminiscence about the good times she had in Mexico, Denver (especially the shopping!), Italy (she especially loved visiting the ruins), Ireland and Costa Rica and was looking forward to many more adventures with the "girls".
Bev loved her grandchildren and took so much joy in watching them interact, play and grow. Nathan, Annika, Alice and Xavier were lucky to spend so much time with her at the family cabin in Matlock each summer. They loved her breakfasts, but moaned when she suggested they "go for a walk". They fondly remember the sleepovers together, baking cookies each Christmas and the oodles of gifts each birthday and holiday. Bev spoiled her grand dogs Trixie and Matilda and she was often happiest sitting with a dog on her lap.
The onset of Covid-19 brought many difficulties including a devastating cancer diagnosis in the fall of 2020. Living with cancer is difficult at any time but the isolation brought upon by Covid-19 made fighting cancer even more difficult. Bev's daughters would like to thank the countless people who helped Bev over the past 14 months: Linda, Val, the staff at CancerCare Manitoba, the nurses on the 3W wing of Concordia Hospital, and all the kind, amazing Home Care and Palliative Care staff. The kindness that was shared with Bev was appreciated more than words can say.
Cremation has occurred and a memorial to celebrate Bev (and eat fancy sandwiches) will be held at a later time. In the meantime, enjoy some chocolate, shed a tear with Amazing Grace, and laugh loud and a lot.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Palliative Manitoba can be made in Bev's name.

"I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my mama you'll be."

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 08, 2022