Caroline Gwen Johnston

Gwen was born to farmers, Mack Alexander Homeniuk and Dorothy Caroline Brokofsky on December 30, 1936 in Elrose, Saskatchewan. She was the youngest of three children. They lived in Central Butte, SK until 1944, when Gwen tragically lost her father in a farming accident when she was seven years old. Her Mom moved the young family to Lucky Lake, SK where Gwen attended elementary school and in 1951 the family set off to the big city of Winnipeg, MB where she completed grades nine to twelve. Gwen then attended nursing school with hopes of becoming a flight attendant, but she quickly discovered that was not her calling and decided to go into secretarial work. When she was twenty years old, Gwen moved to Calgary where she met the love of her life, Ramon, and they were married on July 1, 1961 in St. Mary’s Cathedral. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary in 2016 shortly before Ramon’s passing.

Gwen and Ray lived all their married life in Calgary except for a year in Pincher Creek, AB and a year in Los Angeles, California. In 1964, Gwen and Ray had twin daughters. Throughout the years, Gwen enjoyed accompanying the girls to their dancing and figure skating lessons. She loved designing their costumes and cheering them on in competitions and recitals. Gwen worked as a secretary and accountant for the head office of Famous Players Theatres, Pinkerton of Canada Ltd and Accusource Energy Management Inc until she retired in 2006.

Gwen loved to travel. Over the years, she travelled overseas to England, Europe, the Caribbean and Hawaii. Her favorite though was taking trips in the car. Many Sunday afternoons were spent with Ray and the girls in Banff or Lake Louise. Summers brought driving holidays with their travel trailer to Penticton, BC and Vancouver Island as well as many journeys to Winnipeg, Montana and California. After retirement, Gwen and Ray enjoyed many driving vacations to visit family and trace genealogy through the Midwestern, USA. When home in Calgary, they liked to dine out, attend family gatherings, grandchildren’s sporting events, and often got together with their lifelong friends Ralph and Edna.

Gwen is survived by her daughters Diane (Ken) Dorsey and Denise (Jim) Crawford; grandchildren, Krystal, Cole, Aaron and Ryan as well as several nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband Ramon; parents, Dorothy and Mack Homeniuk, sister Beryl and brother Earl.

The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff at Millrise Seniors Village for their care and kindness to Gwen over the past year. There will be a private family gathering to celebrate Gwen’s life on April 8, 2024. The family invites you to enjoy Gwen’s video tribute on the Foster’s website- please see below the service information.