Mrs. Winifred Minelva Victor

Winifred was born on July 14, 1920 at Suddie Hospital in Essequibo Coast, Guyana. Her parents were James and Catherine Stewart. Winifred was raised in Reliance, Guyana. When she was young, Winifred's friends and family found that “straightforward” and “honest” were perfect words to describe her. Even as a child, Winifred demonstrated strong qualities of self-confidence, perceptive ability and a disposition that was enjoyable to those around her.

Winifred grew up with eight siblings. She had older brother Jonathan and three younger brothers, Norman, Victor and Neville as well as older sister Elizabeth and three younger sisters Lilian, Victoria and Mirian. Winifred was constantly involved in all sorts of activities with her family. She was even-tempered, taking care not to get involved in too many family conflicts. This quality served her well, in perpetually bringing harmony, understanding and a sense of peace to the family. Winifred carried these traits into her adult life and served as one of many reasons why family and friends found her pleasurable and delightful to be around. Winifred was a person who genuinely understood and cared for others, making powerful connections with those she knew.

As a young girl, Winifred was imaginative, ingenious, clever and a “novel” thinker. Regardless of whether her peers were older or younger, or came from different backgrounds, Winifred could easily relate to other kids. She was an active child who took part in circle tennis. In her spare time she liked to sew and read. Winifred's memorable achievements included being selected by her teacher to help teach her peers in class. However, to Winifred, the most fun to be had was simply playing and spending time with her many friends.

During her high school years, Winifred had a natural flair for cheering on and applauding just about everyone. She was constantly offering her support and encouragement to fellow members of the groups and activities in which she participated. She did well in school and genuinely enjoyed telling stories in a way that drew people to her. In this way, Winifred had a talent for becoming the center of attention, a kind of social catalyst. Winifred was often found to be the lead person facilitating a group activity, frequently filling the role of being “the life of the party.” Teachers and classmates knew Winifred as an excellent listener. She placed a high value on learning and always understood that there was a new lesson to be grasped waiting for her just around the corner. The teacher she enjoyed learning from the most was Miss Josephine Yearwood.

Always considered a “good” friend, Winifred sought to understand the things that others enjoyed. For this reason Winifred always seemed to possess a never-ending collection of acquaintances. Winifred’s friends found her easy to know and get along with because of her talent for being socially at ease, adept at conversation, and always amiable in her dealings with others. Winifred would always seek to learn what her friends enjoyed, and she would go out of her way to make sure that their needs were met. Winifred was always seen as the type of person who was the more gracious giver. In fact, she sometimes felt ill at ease when she was the one on the receiving end. Throughout her life she had many friends. While growing up, some of her best friends were Ruth Boston, Audrey Fraser, McDonald and Kathleen Gilkes. Later in life, she became friends with Eloise Cornett, Elsie Baird, Annie Dhanett, Irene Tyrell, Estell Smith and Eva Baird.

In June, 1948 Winifred married Clement Justus Victor at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church of Essequibo, Guyana. Compassionate and devoted, Winifred worked hard to make her new family happy. She was always generous with her time and this meant that Clement came first in Winifred’s book. She was always caring and made certain that she considered Clement’s feelings. By trusting her emotions, Winifred did her best to make sure that both the marriage and home life ran smoothly. This is just one more example of how Winifred was truly a person of empathy.

Winifred’s quality of being a caring and tolerant person who was very accepting of others translated to being a good mother to her children. Winifred shared these values with her seven children, Ingrid, Peter, Cecile, Terrence, James, June and Clairmont. Winifred was also blessed with eight grandchildren, Christine, Ashley, Deosi, Deslyn, Melissa, Timothy, Devonna and Jeffrey. Winifred related well to children of all ages and was able to connect to them on their level. The children always loved her and she was completely and totally devoted to them.

Winifred experienced success in her work life over and over again. Her primary occupation was Homemaker, Exams Investigator and Supply Teacher. She was employed for 10 years as Investigator Supervisor. Winifred always made the effort to understand what was needed at work, and was well known by her colleagues as a team player. Winifred took pride in managing her professional responsibilities and seemed to always know what was necessary to successfully complete a project. Winifred was one to take the initiative and her skills at working cooperatively were highly valued. Winifred continually sought to learn what her co-workers did well and how they were most effective, a talent that enabled her to help them develop their own potential.

Because she was organized and methodical, Winifred took great pleasure in her various hobbies. Her favorite pursuits were religious teachings, reading and traveling. Winifred enjoyed sharing her passions with others and could singularly focus on one hobby at a time.

Winifred derived much satisfaction from sports. Because she was so instinctive and could always grasp the big picture, Winifred delighted in the strategy and inner workings of a competition. In high school, Winifred played softball. In her college years, Winifred continued to stay active by playing softball. Winifred was also something of a sports fan and enjoyed watching her favorite teams' events whenever she got the opportunity. Tops on her list was cricket.

Throughout her life, Winifred was actively involved in professional and community organizations. With a talent for focusing in on exactly what was required to be completed, Winifred was known to her peers as being able to strengthen any group endeavor. When called on, Winifred was a natural leader who created harmony and good relationships within the group, often putting her own needs aside. Winifred’s involvement could easily help structure and organize any part of an organization. An added benefit was Winifred’s ability to bring valued principles along with her. In high school, Winifred was a member of the softball team. and continued through College. Throughout her later years, Winifred was an active member of the Church club-Mothers Union and Priest and People's Warden-Church Vestry.

Winifred was well known to others for her ability to naturally and conscientiously move into action to help others, a quality that placed her as an active contributor to many community activities. Charismatic by nature, she was always viewed by others as someone who built bridges, connected to people, and upheld her personal values. Serving on committees for the Evangelistic Outreach Community Prayer Group, and Political Community. Politically, Winifred was involved in the People's National Congress as a Minister of Religion.

Winifred’s faith was important to her. She was a member of Holy Trinity Parish for most of her life. During that time, she was a Lay Pastor and People's and Priest Warden Representative for Vesting. She was compassionate and warm hearted, someone who truly cared for others and that was clearly demonstrated in her work with the congregation.

Though she never did anything solely for individual recognition, Winifred was given accolades for her many and varied efforts throughout her life. If the truth were known, Winifred was always a little uncomfortable with being singled out for recognition. One of her most prestigious awards included 1st Prize for Outstanding Sermon delivered during Synagogue/Readers Retreat.

Winifred enjoyed traveling, and because she was so well organized, she would take on the responsibility of planning and scheduling all of the family vacations. Her gift for keeping things lively meant that vacations with Winifred were always enjoyable. Favorite vacations included Barbados, Georgetown, London England and Canada.

Winifred was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. One of Winifred's favorite was Bobby, and Terrier mix. They were best friends for 10 years. Her family was rounded out by her dog Rover.

When Winifred’s retirement finally came in April 8th, 1994, she was well prepared. Being the focused and organized person that she was, Winifred had taken care to plan for this part of her life. When that time eventually arrived, Winifred knew exactly what she wanted to do. Her new life involved relocating to Canada to be closer to her family. In retirement, she found new pleasure in reading, traveling, spending quality time with friends and family and involvement in church activities. Even in retirement, Winifred continued to stay in touch with her old friends and made plenty of new acquaintances. She was active in the community and felt fulfilled.

Winifred passed away on January 14, 2011 at Scarborough General Hospital succumbing to heart failure. She is survived by children Cecile, Terrence, James and Jane, as well as grandchildren Deosi, Deslyn, Melissa, Timothy, Christine, Ashley, Devonna and Jeffrey. Services were held at the Anglican Church Of The Nativity-Scarborough. Winifred was laid to rest in St. Margaret's In The Pines Cemetery.

Throughout her life, Winifred was a gregarious and enthusiastic woman. She was generous in sharing her personal attributes, giving and helping those she knew and loved. She would often fill the role of coach, bringing out the best in everyone. She was imaginative, original, tender hearted and easy to get along with. Winifred leaves behind her a legacy of life-long friendships and cherished memories. Everyone whose lives she touched will dearly remember Mrs. Winifred Minelva Victor.