BREEDA (BRIDGET) ANNE ODONNELL

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

BREEDA (BRIDGET) ANNE ODONNELL Heaven is home to another sweet and generous soul with the passing of Breeda (Bridget) Anne ODonnell. She was 79. The youngest of 11, Breeda grew up in County Kerry, Ireland. An intelligent and dedicated student, she graduated high school at just 16 years of age, going on to a career in nursing. She brought comfort and care to many in the Hume Street Cancer Hospital in Ireland, where she worked for several years. Her career path brought her to Canada in 1954, where she worked for a time at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto. She later moved to Fort William to nurse at McKellar General Hospital, where she met the man who became the love of her life, Jake ODonnell. They came to Winnipeg in 1964. Breeda was proud of being a full-time Mom. She was deeply dedicated to her family and provided us with a safe and happy home. Breeda had an incredible ability with crafts, especially sewing and award-winning crochet. Active with the CWL, Breedas creativity and generosity always ensured church bazaars were well stocked with saleable goods to raise money for charity. Her heart and her table were always open to those in need. Breeda is survived by husband Jake; son Hugh and his fiancee Claudia Cahatol; daughter Eileen and son-in-law Robb Mitchell; sisters, Eileen Riordan, Sr. Nora Berchmanns Roche; numerous nieces and nephews, including Helen, the gang from Dungeel, Ireland and the Keefe Boys in Calgary; many close and dear friends from the Our Lady of Victory CWL, the Rockwood ANAF, the Union Centre, Birds Hill Park and the Gembler KOA in Texas. Memorial Mass will be held on Thursday, January 29 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory Memorial Church, corner of Osborne Street and Arnold Avenue. If friends so desire, donations may be made to Our Lady of Victory School for the Breeda ODonnell Bursary Fund. "I said to the man who stood at the gate of the years - Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown. And he replied, Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!" - Minnie Louise Harkins CROPO FUNERAL CHAPEL 586-8044

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 28, 2004