Eugenia Galinaitis

Holding her forever in their hearts are her children Irene Heilmann and Raymond Galinaitis (Judy); grandchildren Michael Heilmann (Karen), David Heilmann, Lee Galinaitis and Morgan Galinaitis (Brett Gagnon); great-grandchildren Ashley and Adam Heilmann; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews in Winnipeg, Maryland and Lithuania.

Eugenia was predeceased by her husband Alfonsas; son-in-law Nick; parents Augusta and Alexander Matveicikas; and her siblings Sonja, Paul, Sergius, Alexander and Sasha.

She was born in Kybartai, Lithuania in 1930, the youngest of her family of 6 children. The family had to flee their home during WWII and eventually she, her widowed mother, her sister Sonja and her brother Paul immigrated to Canada. Eugenia arrived at the port of Halifax in December of 1949 and then made her way to Winnipeg where her sister and a man who had fallen in love with her picture were waiting for her. The man was Alfonsas Galinaitis, another immigrant from Lithuania. They were married in March of 1951 and built a life in their adopted country. Eugenia worked full time as a sewing machine operator until she semi-retired in 1974 when they moved from Winnipeg to a new home on a piece of land near Woodlands, MB. She was widowed after 42 years of marriage.

Nobody that visited Eugenia’s home ever left hungry. She was a wonderful hostess, an excellent cook and a fabulous baker. Celebration dinners usually meant several kinds of meat entrees along with numerous side dishes. A cake for dessert was never enough. You had to have at least three or four different kinds. Her sweet rolls were legendary and the soup repertoire was never-ending. She loved to entertain and loved to party. In her younger years, she loved to dance and it was a rare Saturday night that found her and Alfonsas at home. Summer weekends were spent camping with the family and vacations were for travelling by car to visit friends and relatives. She also loved to sing and had a lovely alto voice. She sang in a choir made up of members of the Winnipeg Lithuanian community. She was an active volunteer at St. Casimir’s Lithuanian Church and worked at their church bazaars and other functions. During Folklorama, she worked in the kitchen of the Lithuanian Pavilion making traditional foods. Eugenia treasured her Lithuanian heritage but she was a fiercely proud Canadian. She will be remembered as a positive, hard-working and fun-loving person.

The family would like to extend their thanks to the home care and palliative care staff in the Interlake Regional Health Authority for their help and kindness and to the staff of the Stonewall and District Health Centre for their compassionate care. Also, a very special thank you to Eugenia’s dear friend Jean Marshall who helped her in so many ways.

A Memorial Service for Eugenia will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2020 at 10:00 am at Thomson “In the Park” Funeral Home, 1291 McGillivray Boulevard.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, if friends desire, donations may be made to the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation or the Kidney Foundation of Canada.