Obituary
Anne Chyz
1920 – 2020
Anne Chyz passed away on Thursday, April 2, 2020 at the Holy Family Home in Winnipeg at the age of 99 years.
Anne was born on September 19, 1920 at home in the R.M. of Grandview, Manitoba. She was a daughter of Matthew and Mary Kowal (nee Huska).
Anne grew up on the family farm north of Grandview. She received her education at Wicklow School.
Anne was united in marriage to Paul Chyz at the United Church Manse in Dauphin, Manitoba on November 21, 1946. This union was blessed with eight children; Diane, Dwayne, Sharon, Sandra, Bryon, Mervin, Doreen and Donna. Anne and Paul raised their family and farmed together on the family farm south of Grandview. Paul also operated a grader for the R.M. of Grandview.
On April 30, 1969, Paul was on the way into Grandview to get parts for the grader when he was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident. The family was forever changed when Paul passed away in hospital in Winnipeg on May 25, 1969. Anne’s father Matthew (who lived with the family) passed away one week later.
Anne was faced with the seemingly impossible reality of continuing the farm while raising the family on her own. She met this challenge with the strength, grace and determination that came to define her.
In 1975, Anne and the children (those still living at home) moved into Grandview and she rented out, then eventually sold the farm. She later purchased her final home on Roland. This beautiful house was Anne’s home and site of innumerable family gatherings for the next 35 years until her son Dwayne (Hazel) Chyz bought the house. Anne continued to live in the house with them until declining health necessitated moving into her daughter Sharon (Chris) Molberg’s home in Winnipeg.
For the next three years, Anne’s family came together and, along with Home Care were able to care for her at home as long as possible. In November of 2019, further declining health led to hospitalization and following this, Anne became a resident at Holy Family Home in January 2020.
Anne’s family- her children and their spouses, her grandchildren and her great grandchildren were the center of her life. She was married to Paul for 23 years and without him for 50 more following his passing. During this time, she devoted the entirety of herself to her family.
She had many interests. She loved family gatherings in her home and cooking for them. She was known for her beautiful yard, which she won awards for. It was the site for many wedding pictures over the years, something she was proud of (quietly of course). Anne sang in the Grandview United Church and Senior’s choirs for many years.
She also enjoyed travelling to many parts of Canada and the USA to visit her family. As well she travelled to England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
In one of the darkest moments of our lives we are not able to find the appropriate words to describe the pain in our hearts. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family. The love she had for her children and their spouses, grandchildren and great grandchildren knew no bounds. While we will miss her dearly, we are also happy that she has finally earned her rest.
Anne was predeceased by her parents; Matthew and Mary Kowal (nee Huska); her beloved husband Paul Chyz, her daughter Sandra Smith; her son-in-law, Bob Nairn; her siblings, John (Anne) Rachuk, Pete (Betty) Rachuk, Lena (Peter) Chyz, William (Mary) Kowal, Mike (Jean) Kowal, Sophie (Matt) Ewanyshyn, and an infant sister Nellie Kowal. She was also predeceased by her sister-in-law and brother-in-law Jean (Fred) Kozar as well as Paul’s other siblings and their spouses, other cousins and extended family.
Anne is survived by her children; Diane Nairn of Roblin; Dwayne (Hazel) Chyz of Grandview; Sharon (Chris) Molberg of Winnipeg; Bryon (Wendy) Chyz of Flin Flon; Mervin Chyz of Winnipeg; Doreen Chyz (Al Furneaux) and Donna Chyz (Rob Stobbe), all of Calgary; and her son-in-law, Richard Smith of Water Valley, Alberta.
She will also be dearly missed by her grandchildren and great grandchildren; Paul (Joanne), Tristen and Cooper Nairn; Allison (Ryan), Gillian, Barrett, Jasper and Willa Lawson; Nicole (David), Andrew and Mark Liwiski; Greg Chyz; Christine (Jeff), Matthew, Caitlyn, and Ashley Wilton; Tammy (Kiley), Cally and Madyson Asher; Laurelie and Sarah Molberg; Alexandra (Devin) and Liam Hogg; Skye Smith; Ginger (Mike), Julie, and Paige Finnie; Kara and Maya Colbourne; Greg, Vaughan, and Chloe Hubbard; and Dylan Chyz Lund; as well as many nieces, nephews cousins and other extended family.
A Family Visitation was held at Wojcik’s Funeral Chapel in Winnipeg. Due to the ongoing global pandemic, a Memorial Service to be held at Grandview will be planned at a later date, where Anne will be laid to rest beside her beloved Paul.
Memorial donations may be made to the Grandview and District Community Foundation, Box 238, Grandview, MB, R0L 0Y0.
A Sunset on Earth
Is a Sunrise in Heaven
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Anne Chyz 2020..
Death notice for the town of: Roblin, Province: Manitoba
It seems strange to say that I have know Anne for 35 years because those years have passed so quickly. For the past 28 years she has been my mother-in-law and took care of me as my mother had passed away soon after Donna and I married. It was Anne’s nature to welcome and care for anyone who was blessed enough to meet her. For those of us who married into Anne’s family the welcome was that much stronger and lasting and her caring that much more full of love which grew deeper and deeper over the years. Her gift was also to serve her family and put them first which she demonstrated at all of my visits to her home and all the family gatherings I ever attended. To my mind and experience, her cooking and baking were legendary and the volume and quantity of food she prepared was hard to grasp as freezers and fridges filled to over flowing. Of course everyone left her house with a trunk full of food! That was only one of the very tangible ways she would care for us and let us know we were loved. More gentle and tender was the love that flow out of her in the form of kisses and hugs, the warm hellos and tearful goodbyes, the late night welcomes we received upon arrival in Grandview and the image of her waving at the window when we drove away. The legacy of that caring and love lives on in her sons and daughter and it has spread to her grand children and now her great grand children and Maya her sweet great great grand daughter. I recognize her smile and feel her heart in them as I receive their enthusiastic hugs and absorb the love they offer from their hearts that carry Anne’s finger prints, her legacy. Those finger prints will never fade from our hearts because they were placed there in Mum’s loving ways..
Goodbye for now Mum, I look forward to our next meeting. It will be Wonderful!
Love Rob