STELLA PROKOPOWICH

Jan 9, 1939 – Dec 19, 2025

Rob and Colleen are sad to announce the passing of their mother, Stella Prokopowich (nee Wasyliuk), on Friday, December 19, after a lengthy illness.

Stella was a kind, loving, gentle woman who cared deeply for her family. Born in Mink Creek, Manitoba, she was the eighth child of 13, born to Elsie and John Wasyliuk. Her family moved to Garland, Manitoba when Stella was around five years old. There, her parents farmed and ran Wasyluk’s Lucky Dollar general store. Stella attended Garland School, a one-room school house in the small village. Shy and quiet, Stella helped-out around the house, the farm and the store. Growing up in a large family meant it was very busy, and as Stella would often reminisce, nobody was bored. She helped raise her younger siblings, and even her nephew Gerald Kimacovich, when Stella’s sister Nettie took ill.

As a young woman, Stella left Garland to join her sister Rose and brothers Morris and Walter in Niagara Falls, Ontario, where she worked at Kimberly-Clark. She returned to Winnipeg to marry Gordon Prokopowich at a classic Garland wedding in 1958. The couple had three children, Robert, Colleen and Ryan. After a few years, they settled in a small house on the corner of Home Street and Wellington Avenue in Winnipeg’s West End. In 1973, they moved to the town of Birds Hill, where the family home remains. Stella worked for Kimberly-Clark, Bright’s Wine and Old Dutch, until her retirement in 2004.

Stella always prioritized family time and through the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s packed up the kids and travelled back to Garland several times a year, always making sure to find time for a trip to Blue Lake. And even though she didn’t care for it, she’d go camping whenever the family wanted to. She travelled with Gordon across Canada, and in later years, she travelled with her sisters to Florida, Boston and Toronto, where she would enjoy seeing her favourite musicals Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera. She loved movies and her stories, especially The Young and the Restless. She loved a wide variety of music, from Neil Diamond, Nat King Cole, and Nana Mouskouri to the Scorpions. But her favourite song was “Time to Say Goodbye”, as sung by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.

Stella had an artistic side and liked to arrange flowers for her friends’ weddings, and in the ‘70s, she discovered she had a talent for painting, many of which still adorn the walls of family members. She liked to read and was the family historian. If you needed to know a name or a date about anything connected to the family, Stella was the one to ask. Her early family life on the farm helped create a life-long love for cooking. Her nalysnyky, borshch, home-made soups and cabbage rolls were legendary and always at the ready. And baking was ever present, especially her famous beer cake.

Later in life, Stella’s health began to fail her, and while life was often a struggle, she never lost her smile, and always had time for a funny story. Stella loved to laugh and make others laugh as well. Her stories of growing up were endless and always funny. But more importantly, she was a great listener, for her kids, her siblings and her many nieces and nephews. You could always pick up the phone or drop by for a visit and share the latest news or family happening. You never left hungry and always left with a smile.

Stella died at home in the presence of her children Rob and Colleen. She leaves to mourn her children Rob and Colleen, her siblings Walter, Rose, Gloria, Shirley and Frank, three sisters-in-law, and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her parents John and Elsie Wasyliuk, her husband Gordon Prokopowich, her youngest son Ryan, her siblings Michael, Nettie, Nestor, Mary, Morris, John, and Ron, sisters and brothers-in-law, and many nieces and nephews. Prayer service will be held Jan 2, 2026 at 7 PM, with funeral service on Jan 3 at 11 AM, both at St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church, 35 Marcie St. Winnipeg. Interment at Glen Eden Cemetery, 4477 Main St. Winnipeg. Cropo Funeral Chapel in charge of arrangements. In lieu of flowers, donations to Agape House or Siloam Mission are appreciated.

Vichnaya Pamyat - May your memory be eternal.