MARY POLONUK

Mary was born in Sandy Lake, Manitoba on Jan.14, 1933 and grew up within a large family. Her parents, Peter and Pauline (Nee Adamyk) Romaniuk, had sons John (Katherine), Adam, Victor, Bill (Caroline), Frank, Andrew, Walter (Jennie), Maurice (Delores), Ed (Mary) and daughters Christina and Anne. The family moved to the city of Winnipeg in 1943.

Mom worked at Trans Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) from May 1951 to June 1954 after graduating from Gordon Bell High School. She quickly caught the travel bug when she flew to Nanaimo, B.C. to visit her brother John as soon as she had travel passes. At the time it was a full day of travel with many stops along the way. She would work several other places before returning to Air Canada July 21, 1980 until her retirement from the pensions department in February 1998.

She met Bill Polonuk who became her husband on June 26, 1954 and started a family of 4 boys, Grant (Heather), Wayne (Patti) Alan (Christina) and Kevin (Rhea). Baba was so proud of her grandchildren: David (Crystal), Corey (Christine), Stacy (Samantha), Matthew, Alanda (Dean), Kaeli (Ken), Tyler and Jessica. She adored her great grandchildren: Katrina, Kadence, Noah, Damian, Wyatt, Kingston, Charlotte and Greyson.

 Mary and Bill would travel the world in the years that followed. They managed to make at least one stop on every continent including (Antarctica). They were very proud of their travels and were always ready to pack up and fly off, hop on a cruise ship, hit the highway in their car or even get on a train to go to Churchill, MB.

Mom & Dad would not slow down as they wanted to fit as many experiences into life as they could, from golf, the symphony, visiting with grandkids and great grandkids or watching the Jets games. Her greatest joys in life were taking grandchildren golfing, to movies, bowling, crafting and visiting with family and friends. Mom was always very happy when family or friends would call or send a message, to see how she was doing. From talking to her sons and family, to keeping in touch with Air Canada coworkers or the golf ladies, it really made her day. Thank you all for helping put a smile on her face!

In the years of fighting colon and ovarian cancer, she would knit toques for other women who were also going through chemo and lost their hair and would say that she wanted to take care of them. Even at her toughest times in life she worried about others.

On January 20, 2022, 6 days after her 89th birthday, Mom lost her long and hard fought battle with cancer. She refused to let the diagnosis keep her down. She stood strong and was very prepared to win this fight with what she would call “her monster”. To say she took every possible step to advocate for herself in recovery and treatment would be an understatement. She was the glue that kept the family strong and the one who guided us with motivation and love.

Plans will be made for a family gathering at a later date to celebrate Mom’s life. She asked that any donations made in her memory go to St. Amant Center or for Children’s hospital

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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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