JANET MACKENZIE

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JANET MACKENZIE

It is with great sadness the family announces the peaceful passing of our dear wife, mother, and nana, Janet with family by her side at Riverview Health Centre on Wednesday, May 7, 2025 at the age of 78.

Janet was predeceased by her father Ronald and mother Patricia McPherson as well as her brother Glenn last July in British Columbia. She will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by her husband, Robert and children, Christopher, Lesley and Heather as well as her grandchildren, Adryan and Annika.

Janet was born on January 15, 1947 in Morden, Manitoba to Ron and Pat McPherson; she attended school in Minnedosa for a short period of time before moving to Flin Flon with her parents and one final move to Brandon where she completed high school. After her graduation she enrolled at the school of nursing at Misericordia General Hospital and graduated in 1968. After graduation, Janet took on her first nursing position in Fisher River, MB and then made a bold move to take on a position in a two nurse station in Aklavik, North West Territories, in mid 1969. During her stay in Aklavik she met her future husband Robert, who was the Hudson Bay Company manager at the time. 

In August 1970 they both left Aklavik to be married in Brandon, Manitoba, at Janet’s parent’s residence. For their honeymoon they flew to London, England and made their way up to Edinburgh, Scotland where Robert’s family lived to have a Scottish wedding ceremony and to introduce the bride to the family clan. After spending six weeks in the UK they travelled back to Canada where Janet took up a nursing position in Gods Lake Narrows with her husband taking a manager position with the H.B.C as well. 

In the late fall of 1972 they left Gods Lake Narrows and took holidays to go back to Scotland for the festive season. After six weeks of vacation they flew back to Canada and both took up positions with nursing services and H.B.C in Split Lake, MB for a short period before moving to Portage La Loche in northern Saskatchewan where Janet took on the position of public health officer with medical services. Again this was a short stay of one year before moving back to Northern Manitoba in Cross Lake, where Janet took up a position with medical services and Robert with H.B.C. In March 1975 Janet decided they needed another holiday so she booked a 2 week trip for them to go to Hawaii with friends. After three years in Cross Lake they both moved to Winnipeg where Janet took various nursing positions at the Health Sciences Centre starting in the spinal cord injuries Department then transferring to the lung transplant department and finally ending up at the burn care unit at Health Sciences Centre. During this period of working at H.S.C, Janet gave birth to Christopher, Lesley and Heather before retiring in late 2010 due to physical limitations. 

During her years of nursing in remote northern communities, Janet enjoyed the freedom and independence she found herself with making medical assessments and decisions with little resources and support. At that time the only way for her to travel was by aircraft as there were no roads to the main cities. Janet loved learning and applying her skills to treat those in need as well as sharing her knowledge with others in the communities she lived and worked in. Janet made many friends with the local residents as the nursing station operated almost 24-7 between two nurses.

Janet became a tea drinker during her many home visits which she enjoyed doing; getting to know the local residents allowed her to build rapport and gain the trust of her patients and their families. Janet received many thanks from American tourists flying into Elk Island, Gods Narrows for the many fish hooks she removed from various parts of their bodies. Special thanks was forwarded to health services for the action taken by Janet during a air crash near the Elk Island airstrip that caught on fire and she managed to apply medical aid as best she could as there was broken bones and burns to the passengers of the aircraft. At the same time she made the call to MEDIVAC and airlifted the injured passengers to Winnipeg. Among her belongings we found letters from the families of the injured passengers that took great lengths to track down the nurse who provided assistance, thanking her for her critical emergency care as they believed their loved ones would not have made it without her immediate medical assistance.

The family would like to thank Dr. Webb and Dr. Strutinsky-Mason and staff at Riverview 3 East-Palliative, for the care and comfort that Janet received during her short stay.

As per Janet’s wishes, a formal funeral service will not be held and her remains will be laid to rest at the St. Vital Cemetery at a later date. The family will be having a small Celebration of Life in her honour at the Glen Lawn Funeral & Cemetery located at 455 Lagimodiere Blvd. on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

Glen Lawn Funeral Home

204-982-7550

Tributes: www.glenlawn.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 17, 2025