Obituary of NEL GEL HYWORON (nee ORENCHUK)

Nel was born on the family farm in Tway, SK, on September 27^th, 1925, the second youngest of 7 children, to Nicholas and Parania (nee Kostiuk) Orenchuk. 

From an early age, Mom established a strong sense of self, responsibility, work ethic, and independence. Her mother passed away when she was 4 years old and her father passed when she was 14. 

Mom loved attending school in Yellow Creek, travelling by horse and cutter in the winter. She excelled in math and drama and enjoyed acting and playing her violin and mandolin in concerts. As a teenager she worked in her brother Nick’s hardware store and later she worked in her brother Steve’s restaurant. 

Mom met our father Mike Gel and in 1946 they married in Prairie River, SK, where they briefly farmed. Soon after, they moved to Winnipeg, where they raised their 3 children. In 1960, while building their home in North Kildonan, they actively participated in the building of St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church. Mom served as the UCWL president during these early years and for almost 60 years she attended mass and was actively engaged in church activities. Mom loved singing in the church choir and supported church fundraisers and dinners by pinching thousands of perogies over the decades, as well as making paska and pies.  

Mom loved to cook and bake and we were always treated to the best Ukrainian food. In our early days we thought that all children came home from school to freshly baked donuts! Her love for cooking was passed down to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

Being outside in nature and gardening were mom’s passions. She grew everything imaginable which she canned or froze for us to enjoy all year long, and had the loveliest flowers.  One particularly bountiful year, mom canned 80 quarts of blueberries! Any fruit from our orchard, or any bushels of fruit our dad would bring home, were canned…crab apples, apricots, peaches, pears and more.   

When our dad fell ill, mom became a professional cake decorator, another natural talent.  All our special occasions be it birthdays, christenings, weddings, were enhanced by her beautifully decorated cakes. Mom was also a skilled seamstress. She could sew anything and made most of our clothes by copying the fashion of the day. She also loved to embroider, knit, crochet, and do petit point. Her handiwork is evident in all our homes. 

After being a widow for several years, Mom married Boris Hyworon. They were a dynamic couple involved in the hotel/hospitality industry. They loved to dance and were active in the formation of the St. Anne’s Kildonan Senior Horizons. Mom and Boris had a home in Yuma, Arizona where they enjoyed spending winters, dancing, playing canasta and hosting friends and family. 

After Boris’ passing, mom travelled extensively with her family, visiting Australia, New Zealand, South America, Europe, and the Caribbean. She enjoyed visiting relatives in Argentina and Ukraine. One of her more exhilarating adventures was cruising around Cape Horn in inclement weather! 

Mom was always generous in nature, giving of her time for causes and donating her hand- made items for raffles and fundraisers. Even in her eighties, she was still delivering meals to shut-ins in her faithful Jeep.  

Mom was a voracious reader. When she could no longer drive to the library, she would bus there. When her eyesight diminished, she relished in listening to digital audio books. 

In recent years, Mom enjoyed living at The Boulton. Her patio held her beloved geraniums and tomato plants and was her favourite place to sit for hours crocheting or simply enjoying listening to the birds sing. As children, mom would tell us what the birds were saying and instilled in us her love for all animals and nature. 

There was nothing our mom could not do. She could wield a hammer as easily as she could play her harmonica, or sing a tune. “I can’t” was never part of her vocabulary. ‘There is no such word as can’t’ was a phrase we heard regularly. She strove to always do her best. She was thoughtful, wise, compassionate, hard-working, and creative. She would do anything for those she cared for. Her greatest love and devotion was for her family, and we could not ask for a better mom and baba. 

Cherishing her memory are her son, Larry Gel, and two daughters, Linda (Bill+) Senderewich and Gail Gel, and son-in-law Mike Mager with whom she had a very special relationship. Mom was grateful for the gift of her loving grandchildren, Richard (Alison), Carrie (Dan), Heather, Chris, Jordan (Savanna), Tianna (Christian) and Aislinn (Will), and was blessed with the great joy her great grandchildren Ashlynn, Kaitlynn, Liam and Ellis gave her. 

Funeral Service will be held on Monday, December 23, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main Street with Fr. Bohdan Lukie CSsR officiating. Interment to follow at Holy Family Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Mom's memory to Immaculate Heart of Mary School c/o Lubov Foundation, 1085 Main St., Winnipeg, MB R2W 1T9 or www.lubovfoundation.ca  

Vichnaya Pamyat ….Eternal Memory