Obituary of BERTHA ELIZABETH HEWITT (nee WALZAK)

On Sunday, December 29^th, 2024, Bertha passed away in her home at the age of 86 years.

Bertha was predeceased by her husband, Lawrie; her parents; her brothers Michael (Chucky), Joseph, Stanley and Anthony (Tony), and her sisters Anna Jankowski, Sophie Fliss and Francis. Bertha was the last surviving member of her immediate family.

Auntie Bertha played an important role in and will be lovingly remembered and forever missed by her great nieces, Donna Bridges and Kathy Bridges Wallmuth (Chris), great great nephews; David (Nikita) and Mark (Elizabeth); her great great nieces, Jillian and Katelyn; her great great great niece Mila; extended family Gary and Denise Dueck; her niece Julie Cowie (Bob) and their family, as well as numerous others, and a loving and devoted circle of friends and caring neighbors which she also considered to be her family.  

Bertha was born in Winnipeg and grew up in the North End where she made wonderful friendships, some of which began in kindergarten. These “Hen’s Club” friends and their families were very dear to her and she treasured their times together. She met Lawrie, the love of her life at the Winnipeg Roller Rink and they were married in 1965. They built a wonderful life together in North Kildonan and were married for 32 years until Lawrie’s passing in 1997.

Bertha began her career as a secretary and was later employed with the Federal Government.  Always up for a challenge and eager to learn new things, she learned how to speak French, earning her bilingual status and working as an employment councilor in the St. Boniface office, and later at the River East office until her retirement.

Bertha had many interests.  She took great pride in her home. She loved to entertain and reveled in hosting extravagant dinner parties where she delighted in preparing multi-course meals that brought joy to her guests. Bertha and Lawrie shared a love for the great outdoors, and enjoyed many adventures throughout Canada and the United States with their trailer.  They later obtained a permanent camp spot at Lee River where they spent their weekends fishing, canoeing and making lifelong friendships with fellow campers. They had escaped a few winters together in Florida and Palm Springs before Lawrie’s passing.  Bertha’s love for travel didn’t allow her to sit idle.  Her travels took her to Hawaii, Mexico and Florida, as well as many cruises, including Australia, Thailand, China, and South America.  She loved to dress for every occasion and trip, packing was like an Olympic event, color matching and choosing the perfect accessories. Being a “social butterfly” by nature, and never afraid to strike up a conversation, it didn’t take her long to meet new people and make many new life-long friends along the way. In her later years, she enjoyed many gambling excursions and church retreats with her friends.

Health and fitness were very important to Bertha. She started doing aerobics when leg warmers were in style, joining many health spas throughout the years, the last one being the Wellness Centre, where she had been a member for over 20 years. Because of her age, the instructors told her that she was an inspiration to all, which she found very flattering! She also started golfing in retirement, a sport which she loved. She knew the importance of staying active as a senior, both physically and socially. Bertha’s calendar was always filled with many activities and MANY lunch dates!

Bertha was a devoted and dedicated Great Aunt to Donna and Kathy.  She was there for every major event of their lives, as well as every activity, NEVER missing a single tap dance recital.  Auntie Bertha was always excited to plan the annual tradition of taking us to Ice Capades with Auntie Sophie, followed by a dinner at a “fancy” restaurant where we met up with Uncle Lawrie and Uncle Joe, a tradition that lasted for nearly twenty years.  She carried on this tradition with Jillian and Katelyn with Disney or Stars on Ice. She took us to a lot of cultured events, our favorite being Rainbow Stage. This too continued, but we took her to the shows.  She danced on the stage of Celebrations on her 85^th birthday and went to Mary Poppins for her 86^th. She loved making memories with us, and made us feel so important.  She continued to be involved in our lives as adults, as well as our children’s – whether it was golfing, going to the arcade, watching baseball and soccer games, watching figure skating competitions, attending school concerts, shopping or just playing board games, Auntie Bertha loved being involved.  We could even count on her to babysit our pets!

Auntie Bertha – you weren’t just an aunt, great aunt, great  great aunt, and great great  great aunt. You were the greatest!  Thank you for the wonderful memories that we will cherish forever.  Yours was a life well-lived. Rest now, reunited with Uncle Lawrie, and those gone before you.  We will miss you and love you always.    

A service to celebrate her life will be held at Cropo Funeral Chapel on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at 1:00 pm. Tributes can be left at www.cropo.com, the family welcomes you to share your stories about Bertha.  Her life was full of adventure and friends.