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MARY-JOAN
Date of Passing: Nov 20, 2001
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MARY-JOAN (Lily-Jo) GIBSON Known to many Winnipeggers as "Mrs. Santa Claus", Mary-Joan passed away on November 20, 2001 at the St. Boniface Hospital. Born in B.C., she spent the last half of her life in Winnipeg. A faithful City employee for 25 years, she retired from the civil service in 1995. The remaining years of her life were spent at the Mondetta Clothing Company as a voluntary Executive Assistant with the people she loved. She will be missed by her adopted families; the Modhas and Shahs who accepted her as their "little sister". Mary-Joan valued education and service to those less fortunate than her and focused on helping those in need as the main aim in her life. She exemplified this by obtaining her high school certificate at a mature age, despite numerous obstacles and difficulties. She subsequently completed a course in records management from ARMA. She enthusiastically encouraged young people to actively engage in learning, and stressed the importance of education. For many years Mary-Joan fulfilled the role of "Mrs. Santa Claus" to the delight of young and old. She spent countless hours entertaining sick children at hospitals, ailing senior citizens and shoppers at malls. Completely voluntary, Mary-Joan became a Winnipeg Institution and could be relied upon to appear each Christmas season to instill a sense of the festive season magic in all those who had the good fortune to receive a candy cane from her basket. Her tireless service to the city in the role of Mrs. Santa Claus was testament to her dedication in helping anyone she could. Hers was truly a rare spirit. A soul who could be counted on to give all that she could. Her presence will be missed by families who came to accept her as one of their own. Funeral service will be held on Monday, November 26 at 4:00 p.m. at Leatherdale Gardiner Funeral Chapel, 1501 Waverley Street. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Health Sciences Centre in her name.
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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 24, 2001