Obituary of NANCY ANN PILAWSKI

NANCY ANN PILAWSKI

(NEE SWISTUN)

September 2, 1944 – June 22, 2019

 It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our mother in her home at the age of 74 years.

Mom was a dedicated wife, mother, sister and grandmother throughout her life. She was thrifty, resilient, resourceful and fiercely independent. Most of all, Mom was caring. She was always ready to lend a hand, share her delicious cooking and baking, provide a ride to an appointment or babysit her granddaughters.

She loved to host family holidays and get-togethers, especially at her cottage in Lakeshore Heights where she loved to spend her summers. She kept family history alive by telling (and re-telling!) stories dating from her childhood up to the present, especially stories about her granddaughters. If it got a good laugh, she never minded being teased.

Mom had a bright and curious mind. She enjoyed crossword puzzles, Jeopardy, garage sailing, mushroom and blueberry picking, and recently, eating out. Never having lost her youthful ability to ice skate, she did so with her family well into her 60s. She loved exploring and took her granddaughters, Alli and Victoria, on road trips throughout Manitoba and the northern United States. Seeking out free tours and open houses, she visited everything from fire stations to museums and the like.  

Born and raised in West Kildonan, Mom graduated from West Kildonan Collegiate and, except for a brief time when she was first married, continued to live in the neighbourhood until her passing. She had many jobs in her life: stay at home mom, waitress, bookkeeper, mail room clerk at the taxation centre, and tax preparer, a service she provided for family until she passed.  She loved carpentry and helped her brother Dennis with his handyman business. An expert seamstress, she made many outfits for family and dolls.

Mom leaves behind to cherish her memory, her daughters Colleen (companion Dan) and Jennifer (fiancé Brian), granddaughters Alli (companion Scotty), Victoria and Annika, and honorary granddaughters Tori, Brittany, Shelbie and Atiya. Mom also leaves behind brothers Lanny (Janet) and Dennis (companion Kathy), sisters-in –law Janice Swistun and Maria Rogers, numerous cousins, nieces and nephews, and many friends and neighbours.

Mom was predeceased by our dad, Walter, her youngest brother, Michael, sisters-in-law, Donna Swistun and Larisa Kuzma, brothers-in-law Bill Kuzma and Mike Rogers, and her parents, Mike and Nellie Swistun.

A gathering to celebrate Mom will be held at 7:00 pm Wednesday, July 3 at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main Street. Interment will follow on July 4 at 10:30 am at Glen Eden Cemetery.

If friends and family wish, donations in lieu of flowers may be made in Mom’s memory to the Winnipeg Humane Society or the Heart and Stroke Foundation.