JUDITH (JUDY) ANN KENDLE

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JUDITH (JUDY) ANN KENDLE

We are saddened to announce the death at 83 of Judith (Judy) Ann Kendle (nee Halsey) on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at a time and place of her choosing.

She was predeceased by her parents Charles and Margaret (nee Karn) Halsey and is survived by her husband of over 60 years, John Kendle; her children John Stephen (Liz), Andrew, and Nancy (Neal Hardie); and by her sister Karen (Hugh); her close friend Brenda Batzel; and by her grandchildren Fia, Penny and Charlotte Hardie, and Matthew and Noel Carreiro Kendle, along with their mother Donna Carreiro (Lawrence).

Judy was born on July 3, 1940, in Toronto. The family moved often as her father rose in the managerial ranks of Dominion Stores and she attended schools in St. Catharine’s and Hamilton before settling back in Toronto, where she completed high school and first-year honours English at Victoria College, University of Toronto. She then moved with her family to Winnipeg in 1959, where she attended United College, receiving a first-class BA honours degree in 1962. Later that year she moved to London, England, to be with John and, after an often fraught and hilarious six-week bicycle and youth hosteling trip (separate bedrooms) around southern England, she taught for two years at the Mitford Colmer School for Girls on Eaton Square.

Judy and John were married in Foxton, Leicestershire, in 1963 and returned to Winnipeg in 1965, where John began teaching in the history department at the University of Manitoba. Judy then devoted herself to her young family - John Stephen, born in 1965, was soon joined by Andrew in 1967 and Nancy in 1972 - but she still found the time, while shepherding them through their early years, to earn a first-class MA in English and French literature in 1973. Her thesis on Morley Callaghan led to three published articles and the standard bibliography of his works. In 1986, with her family now grown, she enrolled at Red River Community College in the library tech program and finally re-entered the work force in 1988, beginning a 14-year stint at the City of Winnipeg Water and Waste department. She thoroughly enjoyed her time there, savouring the camaraderie and the challenges, especially during the flood of 1997.

Judy retired in 2002 and over the following 20 years she and John enjoyed spending time in the winter months in San Diego and Vancouver and taking excursions overseas to London, Paris, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Cuba and the Caribbean. They also often reminisced about their year in Australia and New Zealand in the late 1960s and their times in Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s - especially a crazy decision to climb Bray Head in pouring rain in the dark.

Judy had a range of interests. She read widely, took a keen interest in politics, volunteered for years at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, and had season tickets for the RWB, RMTC (mainstage and warehouse) and PTE, which she enjoyed with close friends. She regularly attended the Winnipeg Folk Festival and delighted in the energy of the event. She also enjoyed going to the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon, which brought back happy memories of the times she and her sister spent at their grandparents’ dairy farm in Woodstock, Ontario. She especially cherished summer holidays - often in the company of the Batzel family - at Hillside and Lester beaches, where she and John rented cottages for 45 years. Those left wonderful memories.

Above all, Judy was a devoted mother who cherished her children and her grandchildren and could not do enough for them. She was kind, generous and empathetic but, as her children and her husband were often reminded, beneath her grace and elegance rested a steely core which no one dare ignore. She will be forever missed by her family and especially by her inseparable companion of 64 years.

Judy courageously battled the consequences of a major heart attack in October 2012 (her son Andrew saved her life with his recently acquired knowledge of CPR), and the onset of breast and liver cancer in October 2021. Her family wishes to thank the doctors and staff of the cardiac unit, St. Boniface Hospital, particularly Dr. Shaikh; St. John’s Ambulance, which provides CPR classes; Dr. Ethel MacIntosh of the Breast Health Centre; CancerCare Manitoba, especially Dr. Maclean Thiessen; the caring doctors and staff of MAiD and Palliative Care; and E. J. Coutu and Co. Funeral Directors.

Cremation has taken place and there will be no service. No flowers please.

Donations in Judy’s name may be made to CancerCare Manitoba, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Breast Health Centre, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, or a charity of your choosing.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 11, 2024, May 11, 2024