Our lives have become poorer with the loss of our dear Mother, Nina Wanda Wieczorek, on August 10th 2022 at Burnaby General Hospital. She was a devoted and loving mother who is survived by her four children: Andrew, John (married to Lorraine), Eva and Anna, as well as her niece Wanda Riches (married to Alan) and her two daughters Alexandra and Genevieve. She was predeceased by her husband Walter, her sister Hanka Karwowski and her parents, Jozef and Zofia Marczewski.
Nina was born in Bydgoszcz, Poland in a year that shall remain a secret. She was always 19 years old to us until she realized that we were all older than her, at which time she updated her age slightly. Mother was still very young when the Second World War struck. She and her family were torn from their homes and sent to a work camp in Russia. Freed when the Russians were attacked by their Nazi friends, Mom found herself travelling south through the middle east with her mother, ending up in a Polish Refugee camp in Tengeru, Tanzania. She spent her teen years there, flirting with the parish priest who was the only male under 40 in camp. She completed her schooling and, with the help of the Red Cross, was reunited with her father in London, England. There, speaking very little English, she trained to become a nurse. She spent many nights studying, with her Nursing text on one hand and the Polish English dictionary on the other. She specialized in paediatrics and graduated as a Registered Sick Children’s Nurse. While In England, she met our father Walter, with whom she fell in love.
Nina had the opportunity to resettle in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She worked at odd jobs saving enough money to finally bring our father into Canada. Then she got married, and begs raising four children. Despite achieving her nursing degree in London, she had to complete another year of school to achieve her Canadian certification as a Registered Nurse. This while taking care of her four school aged children with her husband. She went on to work at a hospital with the sick premature babies in Winnipeg, sharing her love and compassion with the tiny babies and their worried parents.
In 1970, she and our Dad took the opportunity to move to British Columbia where she got a job at Burnaby General Hospital. She loved her profession and worked on both the paediatric and activation wards until she retired in 1987.
Mom didn’t slow down after retirement. She enjoyed travelling, especially cruising to Alaska. She took three cruises with family and friends and enjoyed every minute of them, especially the dining experiences! She took several bus tours around the area, including Vancouver Island, Radium Hot Springs and a trip to Leavenworth, WA which she enjoyed greatly. Nina also took part in activities at home which included joining the Strata Council at Valhalla Court. She remained involved on the council for over fifteen years. She was also the unofficial resident nurse for the building, handing out cold packs and advice whenever requested.
Mom loved her dogs and grand dogs. She enjoyed walking through the neighbourhood with Penny, her Springer Spaniel and meeting all the other dog people. After Penny passed, she still walked around and chatted with her dog walking friends. She loved her grand dogs and always had cheese cubes to give as treats whenever they visited. (LOTS of cheese cubes!)
Our mother passed away in Burnaby Hospital, which she always considered “her” hospital. She is loved greatly by those who knew her and by those of us she nurtured. Her kindness, generosity and loving spirit shall be with us forever.
In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to the SPCA, a charity she supported all her life.
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