LORRAINE MCNICHOLL

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LORRAINE MCNICHOLL Lorraine McNicholl died on May 19, 2004. She was the tenth of Mathew and Bertha Laycocks 12 children. They were a farm family, at Saltcoats, SK. Being one of the youngest and with servants and hired hands, Lorraine never got to do any actual farm work. She spent her time learning the violin and piano, and then playing for dances in the family orchestra. Lorraine went to Normal School, taught in several one-room schools and later worked for the Winnipeg Library. While teaching school, she met and married banker, George Alexander McNicholl. She then lived most of her life at 808 Warsaw, in Winnipeg. Lorraine was a member of Harrow United Church. In Winnipeg, when times were tough for a single mother, she got her kids playing hockey, baseball and took them to Cubs and Brownies. Despite a low income, she still took them to the lake during the summer. During the 1930s, George introduced Lorraine to the family camp at Ingolf, ON. For the first 20 years, her transportation was a canoe. After retiring from the library, Lorraine spent most of her time at the lake, year round. She lived by herself, with kerosene lamps, a wood stove, snowshoes and a rowboat. In her 70s, she skied the Piute Lake logging road, a four hour trip. At age 90, Lorraine still went to the swamp to pile her own firewood, as it got cut. At the end, she wanted to quit work after about an hour. Her last words were of the lake, "Throw on another log, the kids are coming". Lorraine was predeceased by her husband, George who died in 1942. She leaves her children, Earl (Eva), Morley (Vicki) and Audrey (Gibson-Barritt) and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, with special mention to her oldest, Cindy, who lived with her for a few years. The family will be holding a small service.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 21, 2004