It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Katherine at the age of 78 on Monday, August 18, 2025 in Winnipeg.

Katherine was born on May 6, 1947, to parents Joseph Nazare Sr. and Kathleen Nazare (née Miller) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Katherine’s parents passed away in 1997 and 1998, respectively.

Katherine is survived by her brother Joseph Nazare Jr., daughter Christine Melnyk (Adam), and her three precious granddaughters: Quinn (Christian), Kayda, and Oksana. Katherine also leaves to mourn her extended family “The Melnyks”: Andrew, Nadia, Maryna, Randy, Tymon, and Ashley.

Together, our family shared many good times having themed celebrations, playing games, doing crafts, and enjoying each other’s company. Our parties always included amazing food and Katherine enjoyed contributing her baking. She made excellent pie dough. The leftover dough would be baked into ‘pie ends,’ which Adam would run over to get warm from the oven—living a block away had its advantages.

In addition to being a master pie dough maker, Katherine was known for her delicious brownies, fancy rolled sandwiches and croissant sandwiches for family functions. She always made extra so everyone had a special lunch to take to work the next day. We will enjoy some of these in Katherine’s honour when we gather to celebrate her life in September.

Katherine became “Grammi” in 1998 with the birth of her first grandchild, Quinn. The two of them spent a lot of time together and those memories were precious to Katherine—as she spoke of them often. She was very proud of her three grandchildren. She attended many soccer games, school concerts and functions and remained involved as much as she could, even as her health began to decline. In her later years, she wasn’t able to attend in person but that didn’t diminish her interest in the girls’ activities. Katherine was extremely proud of all her granddaughters’ achievements, whether in soccer or academics.

Katherine was also very happy about Quinn’s engagement to her partner Christian. Our family not only gained Christian but also his son Blake. Another addition to our family that brought her joy was our Goddaughter Maya (Maryna and Randy’s daughter). Katherine always made sure there were gifts for the little kids for their birthdays and Christmas—from “Grammi Kathi.”

Katherine graduated from St. John’s High School and later worked processing claims for Agriculture Canada. She had a knack for numbers and enjoyed the math and problem-solving that came with the job.

Katherine was an avid Folk Festival and West End Cultural Centre volunteer and made many friends there. She had a love of music, including folk, rock, and sea shanties. She listened to CBC Radio every day and enjoyed discussing the latest news stories. She followed true crime before it became popular. Together, we would discuss the latest Dateline episode or court case she was watching on YouTube or following in an online forum.

Katherine was an avid reader and shared her love of books with her daughter Chris and all three granddaughters. She was even caught reading at soccer games instead of watching a few times.

Katherine had a great sense of humour and enjoyed joking around, especially with Adam. When she told stories, we all laughed—mainly because she was laughing. She had a keen memory right up until her passing. When Chris called her from Belfast to tell her we had visited the Peace Wall and taken a photo at the Bobby Sands mural, she named all the historic streets from ‘The Troubles.’

Katherine was a kind person and had a huge heart for animals. She had two rescue cats, Lucius Fatty and Baby, who passed away years ago. Their cremains will be interred along with Katherine at a later date. In addition to her own cats, she loved all the family dogs and cats—maybe not when one of them snatched food from her, but we are sure all is forgiven now.

Her kindness extended to the people around her. She had a soft spot for the disadvantaged and over the years, donated to World Vision, the Salvation Army, CancerCare, and other organizations that supported those in need.

Katherine was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010 and underwent two surgeries and radiation treatments. In her later years, she was diagnosed with COPD, which became more of a struggle over time and led to her recent brief hospital stay and passing. Even with daily health challenges, she always thought of others. She made sure there were always birthday cards, presents, gift cards and ‘Grammi money’ for the kids to spend on school trips and vacations.

There were people Katherine encountered along her journey whose kindness meant a great deal: her friend Michelle, who did her hair; Coco, her favourite homecare aide; her doctors; the guys from the home oxygen company; the paramedics and hospital staff. Small acts of kindness would make her day—whether it was a smile or a cup of Timmies. Often, it was just the time people took to converse with her. Katherine had a knack for getting people’s life stories out of them.

Cremation has taken place, and a Celebration of Life will be held in September (date and place to be determined). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to an animal rescue of your choice.