Barbara Jean Ledyard (nee Shoemaker)

With broken hearts the family of Barbara Jean Ledyard announce her passing on December 30, 2025, at the age of 96 years. After fracturing her hip in a fall, she spent five weeks in hospital before passing peacefully in her sleep, leaving a void that can never be filled.

Mom was predeceased by her husband Hal (Harold) Ledyard, her parents Dorothy and Jacob Shoemaker and her four brothers, Bill, Bob, Jim, and Jake.

She is survived by her six children; Wayne and wife Suzanne, Lynn and husband Shane, Randy and wife Gwen, Janet and husband Bruce, Tracy and husband John, Grant and wife Lisa. She is also survived by her 19 grandchildren, Austin (Sarah), Mitchell (Rosie), Ryan, Adria (Mike), Brandon, Whitney, Sam (Emma), Jillian (Trevor), Madison, Mack, Emma, Zach (Adriana), Riley, Bethany, Elizabeth (Jayden), Steven (Haley), Jacob (Miranda), Ryall (Allie), and Tiger (Maria). She was also blessed with 11 great-grandchildren, Tyson, Tripp, Declan, Ava, Connor, Mason, Charles, Vivian, Cameron, Felix and Paxton. Mom (G.G.) had a close and loving relationship with all her grands and great-grands, and she will be forever loved and missed. Mom also had many nieces and nephews and friends in the USA who survive her and will miss her dearly.

Mom was born and raised on the farm in Grand Blanc, Michigan, before settling in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Our parents met while attending the University of Chattanooga and were married in 1953. Mom was a natural athlete who won many awards and together with Dad they produced six very athletic children. After their marriage Dad was in the Army and then played professional football in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers before heading north to the Canadian Football League where he played for many years with Ottawa, Winnipeg, and SK. Following his retirement from pro football our family settled in Winnipeg.

Between 1953 and 1961 Mom and Dad had six children, three boys and three girls who were everything to them.

Mom was an extremely strong woman and admired by many for her resilience, strength, and courage when we lost our dad to a tragic accident in 1973. As a stay-at-home Mom she was then left to look for work. She landed jobs at the Christmas Cheer Board, the University of Manitoba, Chancellor School, and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as (then) coach Cal Murphy’s secretary. She enjoyed that job so much, with all the travelling, the Grey Cups, the players, the fans and of course, her co-workers who became her close friends, she stayed until her retirement in 1994. She was a second Mom to many of the players who were far from home and missed their families.

Mom was continually active and had many friend groups, the Bridge Group ladies, the Volleyball Group, the Bowling Group, the cocktail Group, the American Women’s Group, and the P.E.O, Group (Chapter H). Many a night we were privileged to spend time hiding on the stairs listening to the latest gossip while the ladies did their thing, drank a bit of wine or Dubonnet, and cackled and laughed like mad.

Mom had so many friends it is impossible to name them all but her longest and dearest was Janet Ploen. Janet and her husband Ken took Mom under their wing following the loss of our dad and the Ledyard and Ploen families spent many days, evenings, weekends, and holidays together. If you saw a Ledyard kid, there was likely a Ploen kid right alongside.

As the unofficial Mom of Elm Street, she was the one you could count on to drive as many kids as she could fit in the station wagon to games, and somehow, she seemed able to attend all of them. She had an open-door policy, if you needed a place to stay, a good home cooked meal or a friendly face, our house was the place to go.

We will remember her as a lovely, smiling, happy, devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, auntie, and friend. Mom made friends everywhere she went, she had the gift of gab and talked to everyone. We are heartbroken but ever so thankful to have had her to love and cherish for so long, but our rock and our glue is gone.

A Celebration of Life to honour this wonderful woman will be held in Winnipeg at Thomson “In the Park” Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1291 McGillivray Blvd, on Friday, June 5, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., internment to precede the celebration. We look forward to seeing you and celebrating our dear Mom, Barbara Ledyard.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to her P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization), Chapter H, a cause very dear to her, https://peo-mb-nwo.org/about-us