April 13, 1925 Calgary – January 3, 2020 Okotoks
A Life Well Lived
Mom was a remarkable woman. In her 94 years, she led a rich and full life. Mom lived the amazing, and she lived the awful. She chose to breathe in the amazing. Mom was an early trailblazer for us. She was a feminist before the title became popular, believed in equality for all, was fiercely independent, entrepreneurial, loyal, compassionate, gave so much to others at the expense of herself, always lived within her means, private, progressive, laughed at herself not others, read voraciously especially history, travelled at every opportunity, took responsibility for her own health and wellbeing, and continued to do the “plank” and dance until she was 93. Mom was raised in poverty during the Great Depression and lived through WW11. Her experiences from these challenging periods added to who she was, SIMPLY, a woman who loved life, never squandered a day, nor expressed any regrets. One of life’s ironies, as full as mom’s heart was. it failed her in the end. Mom was predeceased by, and is now reunited with, her husband of 65 years, Emil; parents, Michael/Mary Yaworenko; her sisters, Margaret, Helen, Lucy, Lily, Sheila, Betty, and her brother William. Mom is survived by her sisters, Ann, Dorothy and her brother George. Miss you mom ... children…Patricia (David), Linda, Gary (Michelle) Sherry, Morgan, Terry (Karen), Kenneth; grandchildren Clayton (Stacy), Dustin, Jacob, Courtland, Sayla (Dean), Jenny (Shone) , Caitlan; great-grandchildren Isolde, Rowen, Jacob, Kya, Holly, Hanna, Tristan, Stella; special friends Sharon Papke, Wylie (Aiza), Edmund. There will be no funeral service, a memorial will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Cochrane Ecological Institute & Cochrane Wildlife Reserve Society (Box 484 Cochrane, AB T4C 1A7 403-932-5632 https://www.cochraneresearchinstitute.org or https://ceinst.org) Photos, condolences and memories may be shared with Irene’s family through www.evanjstrong.com
