JEAN HELEN RECH Wednesday, April 10, 2024, obituary, obituaries, necrology

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Obituary for JEAN HELEN RECH
October 15, 1932 – April 10, 2024
Jean passed away on April 10, 2024 at the age of 91, leaving to mourn her three children; Douglas and his wife Morgan, Larry and his wife Brenda and Janice and her husband Stan. She is also survived by four grandchildren, Dustin, Chantel (Rich), Samantha (Stephan) and Sara, as well as two great-granddaughters, Chantel's daughter Taylor and Dustin's daughter Zoe. Jean was preceded in death by her husband Albert, her mother, her father, her brother and many relatives and friends.
Jean was a sociable person and liked nothing more than meeting new people and making new friends. Although Jean suffered from dementia and memory loss, she continued to make friends late in her life. Unfortunately, at some point she lost her language skills and could only answer very simple questions with yes or no. Her life became a prison for her, where she could no longer talk, laugh, visit… all the things she cared so much about. Thank you to the friends who continued to stay in touch with Mom and visit her as her health deteriorated. She and her family are so thankful and grateful for your friendship and care.
Jean was born in Selkirk Manitoba to Katerina and Paul Chmara. She lived with her parents and older brother Steven in East Selkirk until she was four years old, when the family moved north of Winnipeg. Jean described her childhood as “living on the prairie” without water or electricity and fondly remembered sailing during the spring floods on a “raft” that her older brother Steven had built to take her to school, and skated to school in the winter.
Jean got her first full-time job at Codville's Grocers after completing her education at St. John's High School. Codville's was in the Lombard region at the time and Jean recounted how he got to work by boat during the great Winnipeg flood of 1950. She continued to work there until she married the love of her life, Albert Rech, on January 13, 1952. She and Albert had three children, Douglas, Larry and Janice. Jean and Albert initially lived in Norwood and made many lifelong friends there. In 1960 they moved to Tudor Crescent in East Kildonan and raised their family there until moving to North Kildonan in 1978. Mom remained active during these years with her coffee clubs, curling, cross country skiing and many other activities. Dad and she also purchased property on Sandy Lake, just outside of Kenora, Ontario, in 1970. Summers were sweet and provided many years of special memories for the entire family. After Albert's retirement, they sold their home in Winnipeg and the cottage. They wintered in Fort Lauderdale for 25 years and bought a condo in Gimli (Albert's hometown) to enjoy the summers there. After a few summers in Gimli, they moved back to Winnipeg, where they enjoyed living closer to their children and grandchildren until Bert passed away in 2006. Jean lived in her apartment until 2016, when her failing memory and dementia enabled her to move to a residential care facility. After that, her decline accelerated and she eventually ended her days at the River East Personal Care Home. Even though in the end she couldn't speak and didn't understand the context, she remembered the people she loved. We were always greeted with a smile until the end.
Throughout her life, Mom enjoyed people more than anything else. She enjoyed hosting and receiving house guests and always made everyone feel welcome and ensured they were well fed (like any good Ukrainian). She played a significant role in the lives of her grandchildren when they were young. Her dementia robbed her of these relationships as her condition worsened, but she always knew she loved them, even if she couldn't remember their names.
A lifetime of fond memories of Mum at home, cooking and baking, watching Wheel of Fortune, reading her books on the cottage terrace and taking long walks (she was an avid walker!) will stay with us all years of our lives. We will miss her forever but can rest easy knowing that she is no longer suffering and is with Albert and all her friends and family who missed her so much after her death. Thank you, Mom, for being a constant source of comfort and care in the lives of everyone who knew you, but especially your children. We love you and will always miss you.
According to the mother's wishes, the cremation took place and a funeral will not take place. Instead, again in keeping with Mom's wishes, a celebration of life for family and friends will be held this summer at her son Larry's property.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Cropo Funeral Chapel

Obituary for the city: Winnipeg, Province: Manitoba

Obituary JEAN HELEN
RECH Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Obituaries note JEAN HELEN
RECH Wednesday, April 10, 2024

We extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of JEAN HELEN
RECH Wednesday, April 10, 2024 and hope that her memory can provide comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.

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