Mrs. Helen Pekarchuk

Helen Pekarchuk (nee Zdrill)

Helen Pekarchuk (nee Zdrill), a resident of the Pinecrest Home for the Aged, passed away peacefully on March 18, 2012 just shy of her 88th birthday. "Mom and Dad are now together again".

She will be lovingly missed by her children: Robert (Mary) in Carp, Ontario, Alan (Pat), Kenora, Ontario, and Diane Ouwehand (Tom), Dryden, Ontario. She also leaves her grandchildren: Ryan (Kellie), Robyn; Samantha Carlson (Mark), Kristen (Mark Mitchell); Andrew Myles (Rebecca Banavage), Will Myles (Camille) and great-granddaughter Erika Pekarchuk.

Helen is also survived by her twin sisters Mary Skrepich (Steve) and Annie Gryzko, sister-in-law Helen Zdrill, as well as relatives and friends in Ottawa, Manitoba and the U.S.A.

She was predeceased in October 2011 by her husband of 61 years Wassili, by her parents John and Stella, her brothers Nick and Walter, and sister Nellie.

Helen was born in Kenora, Ontario on June 8, 1924. She spent her early years on the farm in the “Brick Yard”. The family then moved to Beausejour, then on to Selkirk in Manitoba. She worked for a while in Winnipeg before moving back to Kenora in the late 1940s. She met and married Dad in 1950.

Once the “kids” came along she devoted herself exclusively to raising “her” kids. She never worked outside of the home but became her kids’ and grandkids’ biggest booster for baseball, hockey, football, and curling as she went to most games that they played.

She loved her “shows”, knitting and her garden. Winters would find her curling in the Ladies Leagues. She also loved to walk as her form of exercise. To town and the loop around Rabbit Lake were her favorites.

She discovered Travel by Air later in life. Her first trip to Hawaii was also her first Air Flight. All her travel before that was either by car, bus or train. She especially liked it when her brother Walter invited them to Motorhome it to Texas and Mexico to get the “real” Vanilla for her baking.

Everyone in the family (especially grandchildren) knew where to get a good feed of perogies, cabbage rolls or her famous spaghetti. She loved to make and eat “Dill Pickles”. She was an absolute connoisseur because if the Dills weren’t up to her standards they got tossed. She knew every Dill recipe that existed and had probably tried them all looking for that “perfect” Dill.

Special thanks to Dr. Sawatzky, the second floor nursing staff and the Activation staff at Pinecrest for making her stay enjoyable.

As per her wishes, immediate cremation has taken place. There will be a Celebration of Life on March 31, 2012 at 1:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Pinecrest Home for the Aged, with a private family service and interment at the Lake of the Woods Cemetery/Columbarium at a later date.

In memoriam donations may be made to Club-Day-Away or a charity of one’s choice

Online condolences may be made at www.brownfuneralhomekenora.com

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