HALINA TARWID

Halina Tarwid was born on February 28, 1929, in Zarzeczyca, Wołyń, Poland, and passed away on September 16, 2026, in Brandon, Manitoba. She was the youngest and last surviving of the six Szumski siblings.

After Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland in 1939, Halina, her sisters Kazia and Fela, her brother Edek, and their father Lucjan were deported to a labour camp in the Arkhangelsk region of Siberia. Following their release in 1941, the family endured a difficult journey through Central Asia before reaching Tehran, Persia, and eventually Camp Tengeru near Arusha, Tanzania.

For seven years, the family lived among thousands of Polish refugees in Tanzania. They lived in whitewashed mud huts with thatched roofs, grew their own food, attended Polish school and Catholic church, visited local markets, and learned Swahili along the way.

After her older brothers were demobilized in England, the Szumski family landed in Southampton on August 15, 1948. Another country and another language to learn. Halina was 19 and had already travelled half the world unwillingly. Yet England, like Tanzania before it, proved to be a warm experience for Halina and her family. Food rationing existed, but there was cinema, dancing, friendship, and love to experience.

At age 21, she married Antoni Tarwid, another Polish war refugee and a friend of her brother Mietek. Two daughters soon arrived, Krystyna and Joanna, and roots began to take hold. Like many Polish refugees unwilling to return to communist Poland, Halina and Antoni eventually immigrated to Canada and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The middle years of Halina's life were happy and full. Throughout those years, Halina built a life centered on family, work, and community. She lived in the same North Kildonan neighborhood for more than 40 years. She cared devotedly for her daughter Joanna, worked in the kitchen at St. Boniface Hospital for 34 years, and enjoyed visiting friends and relatives, gardening, mushroom picking, berry picking, fishing, and camping. One of her favourite memories was an RV trip to the West Coast with her siblings and their spouses, driven by their nephew Kaz. Though the siblings had scattered across Canada and England, they always found ways to come together, a tradition their children continue today.

Retirement at age 63 brought more time for line dancing, reading, and social activities.

Halina's life changed when her husband Antoni died on March 12, 1981. Suddenly, the person she considered her rock was gone. She learned to drive in her fifties, maintained her own garden, and took on many responsibilities she had never expected to face alone.

At age 70, Halina moved to Brandon, Manitoba, to be closer to her granddaughters Erin and Morganna. Halina remained fiercely independent until age 90, when she made one final move to Fairview Personal Care Home.

Predeceased by her beloved husband, Antoni and her daughter Joanna, Halina is lovingly remembered by her daughter Krystyna (Merv Malyon); granddaughters Erin and Morganna; great-grandchildren Aidan and Seamus; nieces Barbara Stanton (Terry Stanton), Ala Capo (Luch Capo), and Janina Smithson; nephews Kaz Machniak, Stephen Szumski (Jeannie) and Stewart Szumski (Trish); and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

Halina was resilient, fun, fierce, and faithful. She danced like no one was watching, and her infectious laugh could fill a room. She loved storytelling and bringing friends and family together over homemade pierogies and placki. From Siberia to Tanzania, England to Canada, she built a home wherever she found herself.

Though Halina was much more than a grandmother, she relished that role. Her warmth, generosity, and love made people feel welcome, cared for, and at home. She wasn't just our family’s Babcia. To many who knew her, she was their Babcia too.

Please take a moment to light a candle, share a good meal with loved ones, and enjoy a slice of lemon meringue pie in Halina's memory.

https://youtu.be/OPD09DOFy-Q 

Link to YouTube Video 

about Halina’s life

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ETHICAL DEATH CARE

Cremation & Life Celebrations

1833 Portage Avenue - Winnipeg

204-421-5501 - www.ethicaldeathcare.com

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