CHRISTINE MARIE NAKONECHNY

Christine Nakonechny passed away on Thursday, October 5, 2017 in the Concordia General Hospital at the age of 57 years.

She will be lovingly remembered by her husband Ron; son Matthew (Ari) Nakonechny; daughter Risa Nakonechny of Vancouver, BC; parents Bishop Ron and Eleanore Hasley of Montana; and brother Rus (Dawn) Hasley of Illinois.

A celebration of Christine’s life will be held between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 11, 2017 in the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg, 603 Wellington Crescent at Academy Road. Christine requested that everyone dress casually.

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Ron's Speech at Memorial Celebration

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I met Christine (or Chris as she preferred to be called) on November 23, 1979 at the U of M Taché Hall Dormitory when I was partying with my good long-time friend, Fred. I have absolutely no idea what she saw in me, given the state I was in, but I somehow managed to get her phone number and called her the next day. We have never been apart since.

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We were engaged a year later and were married in August of 1981.  She was an amazingly beautiful bride. Chris decided that university just wasn't for her and chose to work and support us while I continued my studies at the U of M for 2 more years.

Shortly after I graduated with my second degree, Chris informed me we were pregnant! In May of 1984, we were blessed with the arrival of Matthew, our beautiful son. Chris' occupation changed to being a full-time stay-at-home mom and we enjoyed watching our son grow up and bring joy to our hearts.

Three years later in March of 1987, we again were blessed with the arrival of Risa and enjoyed the special gift of having a beautiful daughter in our home.  A year later, we moved to Transcona (so I could be closer to work) and we made it our home for 29 years. We watched our children grow up to be wonderful young adults and both eventually moved out of the house to pursue their dreams.

In the late 1990's, Risa & I decided to adopt a mutt from the Humane Society and a small cockapoo named DiDi entered our lives.  Risa & I were the dog lovers, but the person the dog loved the most was Chris… no surprise there!

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In the early 2000's, we were doubly fortunate as my Aunt Martha & Uncle Larry moved to Grand Forks AND Chris' mom & dad built a cabin in Montana.  The equation was simple, if you are visiting mom & dad, you HAD to visit Aunt Martha...and so each trip was doubly special.  She enjoyed that beautiful view of Flathead Lake and the mountains from the deck of the cabin.  On the way back through Grand Forks, Chris would secretly leave soaps and beauty products (that Martha liked) under the pillows for her to find later.  Chris always thought about and appreciated others... always putting them first.

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And again in the early 2000's, with an empty nest looming, Chris decided to get into the work force again and landed a job as an assistant manager at Little Caesar's pizza in Transcona.  She loved working with the staff and they enjoyed working with her... being especially nice to her since she was in charge of payroll! 

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As the years ticked by, Chris & I were inspired by our friend Fred who suggested we should “Travel while you're young; while you have your health!”  That turned out to be the best piece of advice in our lives!  We decided we enjoyed cruising and have taken cruises to Alaska, New England, the Panama Canal, Hawaii, Northern Europe and Australia & New Zealand! We had the privilege to see a good part of the world, take tons of pictures and create a host of ever-lasting memories of great people, beautiful scenery and amazing experiences.

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Sometime around 2007, another close friend, named Sabrina, entered our lives. I first met her at Superior Technologies and convinced her to come and try geocaching (which is finding Tupperware in the woods using billion dollar satellites and a GPS). This was my hobby, but Chris loved to come along on weekends and sit in the car to read the newspaper. Chris & Sabrina became instant friends who somehow found and shared a common interest in ganging up and teasing me. I had no chance against these two! Humor was such an integral part of her life.  And later, when Sabrina had her kids, Chris graduated from "friend" to "Nana". Nana-Chris became a part of Sabrina's family and my cell phone quickly filled up with hundreds of pictures & videos of her daughters Mickayla and Autumn growing up, all in an effort to try to cheer Nana up through her difficult ordeal. Chris was so proud of her "grand-babies", showing them off to anyone who would even show the slightest interest.

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Then, after fifteen years of work, Chris decided to retire in December of 2015.  She bought a sewing machine that month so she could pursue her passion of quilting. Sadly, she was diagnosed with Stage IV Breast Cancer only a few months later. She had a difficult struggle, enduring four different chemo treatments and five weeks straight of daily radiation over the course of a year and a half. Our out of town friends, Fred & Karen and our daughter Risa flew in to see her at least four times in the last eight months to spend time with her. Matthew looked in on her frequently and I was there for her every day, taking care of her and getting all the housework done so she didn't stress out… all in the hopes she could focus on beating this horrible disease. She had the most positive of all attitudes... she was bitter NOT ONCE!  After more than 240 appointments with doctors, cancer-care, home care and everything else, she left us last Thursday evening with Risa & I holding her hands.   Later, as we left the hospital to go back to an empty home, we stared at a huge, bright full harvest moon on the horizon that seemed to illuminate the sky in front of us. One may think this is a coincidence, but I'd like to think it was Chris, still taking care of us after she left, making sure we could see our way home safely... again always thinking of someone else.

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In closing, Chris brought so much love into our lives... the love of her family, the love of our children, the love of friends, neighbours and co-workers. The love surrounding this amazing woman literally had no boundaries. Rest pain-free in peace my beloved, our love for each other will never leave my heart. Thank you.

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

530 St. Mary Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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