Jennie Marchinko

She came home to the family farm and her big brother Alex. Two years later she got a little brother Joseph. Eight years later her second little brother was born. They asked her what his name should be and she stated Stanley and so that is how he got his name. Due to illness Tillie remained in hospital for a year after Stanley’s birth. Jennie took a year off school to care for her baby brother, during which time her good friend and deskmate Jean Marion (Mazure) Bohdanvoich brought Mom her school lessons so she didn’t fall too far behind.

Jennie and her brothers attended Duck Mountain School which was a two room school house 3 ½ miles from their farm. She often talked about how they would walk on the train tracks to school and then as they got older in the winter they were allowed to take the horse and sleigh.

Life at that time was very difficult and Jennie took on all the household chores; cooking, cleaning and laundry. She also helped with the outside chores and animals. They had chickens, geese, pigs, cows, horses, cats and dogs. They carried water drawn up from the well for the animals and the household. Jennie would joke about the only time they had running water was when they ran with the pails filled with water.

Jennie loved her family but that love did not always extend to farm life. She often told a story of how the pigs ate her precious, only doll. She was taking a short-cut through the pig pen to visit a friend and she put her doll down to climb over the fence. The pigs came and started to eat her doll. So not only were the animals a lot of work, they quickly became very unpopular with her.

As stated, Jennie’s family meant so much to her.

Jennie’s brother Alex (now deceased) married Sylvia (who is now living in a senior care home in Brandon, Manitoba) and they had two sons: Gerald and Bob. Gerald (godson and nephew) married Bonnie (deceased) and they had a daughter Alexis; and Gerald was also a stepfather to Bonnie’s children. Alexis (great niece) married Dan and they had two boys: Hayden and Barron (great, great nephews). Bob Korzeniowski (nephew) married Judy and they have two children: Lucas and Isabel (great nephew and niece). They all reside in Vancouver.

Her younger brother Joseph married Marlene and they had two daughters. Shelley Romanzin (niece) married Marco and they have a son Matteo (great nephew). They all reside in Calgary. Debbie Korzeniowski (niece) and her partner Wade reside in Ontario.

Jennie’s youngest brother Stanley married his childhood sweetheart Ellen (deceased) and they resided in many states in the U.S.A. due to Stan’s work. They had two daughters. Pam Korzeniowski (niece) married Steve and they reside in Arizona. Daughter Susie (niece now deceased) had two sons: Hunter and Zac (great nephews). Stan married again and he and Kathy now live in Florida.

Jennie has many cousins and second cousins who reside across Canada and beyond.

Jennie married her first husband when she was seventeen years old. They had a big Ukrainian/farm wedding with family and friends. They moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba where she got a job in a bakery. Maybe this is where she got her love of sweets, as she baked bread, buns, cakes, cookies, pies, muffins, squares and other assorted pastries. After a few years, they went their separate ways.

Jennie had aunts and uncles in Calgary and she decided to move there. She stayed with little Auntie Mary and Uncle John until she got settled. She got a job waitressing in a coffee shop which was across the street from where the Calgary Tower now stands. Jennie met John and married again. They had two daughters, Barbara and Edele. She became a stay-at-home mom.

The disease of alcoholism hit her family unit. She desired safety, dreams and faith for herself and her girls; so she made a difficult decision to take her children and leave her husband.

Joe and Marlene took her and the children in for about a year till she got settled again. Jennie got on to social assistance, found a basement suite and was on her own with her girls. She was able to share her faith with grace before each meal, evening prayers, and regular church attendance including Sunday School.

Jennie had a Catholic upbringing and ended up finding a home in the United Church. She enjoyed filling the home with music from the radio and reading aloud books that were borrowed from the library by the girls after every meal. While the girls were at school she worked cleaning houses and doing ironing (laundry) for extras like piano lessons for her girls.

In April 1966, Jennie’s brother Stan helped her buy a home for her and her girls. She lived there for 57 years until the time of her death. She loved her home, gardening and tending to her flower beds.

In the years that she lived in Crescent Heights, she participated in school committees and activities in the community. She became a regular member of her local church and was not only there on Sundays but participated in bible studies, groups like Keen-Age (program for seniors), and always helped with whatever the girls were involved in.

As her girls grew she desired to become financially independent so took continuing education programs and began working full-time at the Beacon Hotel coffee shop, then at Sydorski’s furniture store. Upon graduating from educational courses she got a job cooking at the Calgary Youth Detention Centre, Mappin’s Jewellers, People’s Jewellers, followed by Wilson’s Stationery. Finally she got a job at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, where she worked for twenty plus years, in the mail room with responsibility for all incoming and outgoing mail, ordering supplies and, as file room clerk, managing all files. She retired from what had become Intact Insurance Company at 63 years of age for health reasons.

In retirement she continued volunteering at her church and did babysitting and dogsitting for her neighbours. She loved hosting a great garden party in her back yard. Mom treasured going to Sunday services and, in later days when Mom was not able to physically attend, was grateful to be able to attend online.

People were always Jennie’s greatest priority. She enjoyed and made time for family, friends and neighbours whether it was a short chat, longer conversation in person or on the phone, coffee and a snack or making a meal to share with those she loved.