PEARL BASARABA

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PEARL BASARABA

Lovingly Remembered

Peacefully, on a Saturday afternoon, with Nadine and Pat by her side, Mom took her last breath. The pneumonia which sent her to Nanaimo Hospital five weeks earlier slowly worsened until breathing was just too hard. During her final weeks, her granddaughter, Kristin, came from Victoria every week to brighten her day. Another granddaughter, Marissa, visited from Kelowna and helped her grandmother by providing some additional nursing care. Mom saved her strength to visit with her loving family. She often smiled when asked how she was doing and as she talked about the old days in Winnipeg, Sylvan (MB) and Canora (SK). Near the end, Mom often talked about her sister, Florence, and how she left Canora to help Florence with her first born, Edward (Eddie), in 1956.

Our Mom, Pearl Krukoff, was born on March 1, 1939. She was the second girl in the Anne and Peter Krukoff family. Mom was born in a farmhouse on a sheepskin, 10 miles west of Canora, Saskatchewan. She grew up with two brothers and three sisters: older brother Bill, younger brother Peter, older sister Florence and younger sisters, Helen and Mary. Mom is survived by her sister Helen, who lives in Winnipeg.

The third of six kids, growing up in the 1940s and 1950s, Mom often said that most meals consisted of eggs and potatoes. On special occasions, her dad would kill a chicken. Some of Mom's favourite things about her childhood were reading, Christmas concerts and her beautiful dog Spot. In later years, Mom spoke to her daughter about being bullied as a young child as she walked two miles home from school. These memories haunted her for her whole life but, at the same time, shaped her welcoming, kind-hearted, and generous spirit. This was especially evident for others with burdens and vulnerabilities.

Mom's family, school, the farm animals and her belief in God was all she knew as a child. As a young person, she chose to go to work because her family was very traditional and did not support further schooling. Mom loved school and was very good at it, so this was very hard for her. She was very proud of her success in school and her strong work ethic in her school years and work life.

When Mom left Saskatchewan for the big city of Winnipeg, she cherished what life had to offer. She cared deeply for everything and everyone in her life and never took anything for granted. These thoughts were tested and reinforced a few years later. Upon moving to Winnipeg, Pearl enjoyed helping her sister, Florence, with her children. Over the next five years in Winnipeg, she rented various rooms in Winnipeg's North End. One of her first jobs was working as a housekeeper for a family. She became very close with the family and maintained contact with them over the years. She said that she learned so much from them. Everything was so modern compared to her upbringing on the farm. The other job she enjoyed was working at the St. Boniface Hospital in the kitchen and in the cafeteria at the post office in Winnipeg.

For almost five years, Mom dated a handsome, dark haired and blue-eyed man who knew what it was like to grow up on a farm. In June of 1961, Pearl and Stanley were married and started their life together on the old Basaraba homestead in Sylvan, Manitoba. They had two children and had thoughts of eight more. A devastating tragedy took place in the summer of 1964. Her beloved Stanley had drowned near their home. Sadly, her marriage had only lasted three years. Somehow, her incredible resilience, her upbringing, and her love for us, ages one and two at the time, guided her through it. We continued to live on the farm. Mom worked the family homestead near Fisher Branch for a few years before moving to Whytewold Road in Winnipeg in 1966.

Mom went to work in Winnipeg, and we started school. Mom worked hard at many jobs. Her last position for over 30 years was at Oakview Place, a long-term care home, where she was promoted to head cook. She was very proud that she never had a sick day in 30 years. She had lots of stories to tell about her cooking, baking, and interactions at work. Mom loved training young people at work. Sometimes we would joke with her about writing a book with all her stories. Mom was forced to retire in her early 60s due to osteoarthritis. Needless to say, for anyone who knew Mom, she was not happy to lose her daily contact with her work family.

Mom often talked about the challenge of full-time work and caring for us after a hard day. She took us visiting relatives and shopping, all on the bus, for many years. We even took the bus to eat out at McDonald's. We are both dedicated walkers to this day because of our many walks to Assiniboine Park, the Kings movie theatre, bus stops and grocery stores starting when we were young. The fact that she walked to work and back, all those years, helped prolong her life. Gardening, attending school events, reading, bowling, choir, music, movies and cooking Polish/Ukrainian/Russian dishes for visitors were some of her favourite pastimes. She also loved travelling to visit Nadine and husband Kent, in different parts of Canada and in Hawaii a couple of times.

Mom spent her last few years in Nanaimo, BC with Nadine and Kent devoting countless hours tending to her needs. Mom enjoyed spending time with the all dogs though we all know that LuLu was her favourite. She loved and appreciated visiting with friends and family, even more in her last days. She never lost her smile!

Mom supported her sisters and brothers to come and live in Winnipeg in hopes of improving their lives. She helped them find places to live and jobs. Everything Mom did was for her children, family members and close friends. She often visited sick relatives and friends in the hospital by bus on her only day off. She would take her nieces and nephews to Canora, Saskatchewan to visit her parents (their grandparents). She would have her nieces visit in the summer and have a holiday. One of Mom's greatest joys was her grandchildren, Anders, Kristin, Janika and Marissa. She took the bus to visit Anders and Kristin twice a week while she was working. She often had either Anders or Kristin over for sleepovers so that they could play on the trampoline and tree house in her backyard.

Mom loved travelling to spend time with her granddaughters, Janika and Marissa, in British Columbia. Mom enjoyed teaching all her grandchildren to cook and bake. Mom also really enjoyed her visits with our US family, Sarah and her children, Kirsten and Nathaniel. Mom loved being with children in her family and in our neighbourhood. Everyone loved her! She chuckled telling the story of a neighbour boy, Brad, sharing with her that she (Mrs. B) was the best cooker!

Pearl experienced many challenges as a single mom in the 1960s. One example is when she lost a nursing aide job, that she loved, at Deer Lodge Centre, because the two of us had chickenpox. Back then, there was no opportunity to take leave and care for children. She was told to leave her job and reapply when her children were older. Imagine the hardships mom endured, trying to make ends meet while caring for her children. Almost ten years later, when her son was very ill and almost died, she was able to take an unpaid leave so she could be with him and help him recover. Thank goodness for our wonderful neighbourhood family who helped us out many times over the years! This is just one example. Mom truly enjoyed relaxing and chatting with her neighbours Pat and Louise.

Some of the things we learned from our mom: Believe in a higher power and treat others as you would want to be treated. Be kind, empathic, fair, accepting of others and learn how to forgive. Treat people and animals with respect. Put family first, work together as a team, and honour your roots. Celebrate people and holidays. Have a strong work ethic so that you are able support yourself. Be resourceful and resilient.

Tribute Link: https://www.arbormemorial.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 25, 2025