|
Audrey Schreyer was losing her mother even before she was born.
Audrey, who died on Sept. 8, was conceived while her mother was fighting cancer and she was only six months old when her mother died.
As her family says, it wasn’t the last time Audrey’s life went on a different path not of her own choosing.
Advertisement
 Why this ad?
Audrey’s life was a path with mental-health challenges — and it was a path her loving family walked with her.
Early on, Audrey became a patient at the Selkirk Mental Health Centre and she lived there until she died.
Her brother, Lloyd, says he is forever grateful to the centre for giving his sister “a safe place to live, loving care, and a good quality of life.
“Audrey was a vulnerable little person and, had it not been for SMHC and the wonderful staff there, Audrey would not have had the quality and longevity of life she had.”
Audrey had her own room in the centre, as well as her own television, and she loved watching cooking shows and wrestling.
Earlier in life, Audrey experienced many good times in her brother’s home, visits to her sister’s home in Alberta, trips to Hawaii, and her final trip with family to Victoria.
She loved to cook and, earlier in life, she would cook meals for her family. In more recent years, when she could still leave the centre to visit, she would peel and mash potatoes for dinner.
Audrey’s brother said after their parents died in the 1980s, “Audrey became like the child I never had.
“One might think that, under the circumstances, the relationship may bring its challenges — and sometimes it did — but it also came with rewards, and the rewards far exceeded the challenges.
“(She) taught me a lot during her life: caring for another person, patience (although still a work in progress), understanding, a life of learning about mental illness, appreciation, humility, thankfulness and more.”
The family says Audrey was intelligent, came with a great sense of humour, and would make sure she always had Christmas cards and a gift list for the entire family.
“Audrey experienced more than her share of medical issues, but was a tough little soul and over and over again overcame all until the last one.
“Now I hope, finally at last, Audrey is reunited with her mother, whom she lost at six months old.”
Audrey was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Alita, her stepmother Doris, and survived by her brother, sister Shirley, three nephews and one niece, and several other relatives.
Read more about Audrey.
How They Lived
Dr. David Manusow saved the vision of thousands of Manitobans.
David, who was 74 when he died on Sept. 14, went to medical school at the University of Manitoba, followed by training in glaucoma surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and in Cambridge in England.
Returning to Winnipeg, David was the province’s first and only ophthalmologist specializing in glaucoma during the 1980s, with a patient population that today is handled by eight doctors.
Read more about David.
Beth Hiscox was a professional artist.
Beth, who died on Sept. 15 at age 94, studied art in Toronto, before moving to Flin Flon to teach school for a few years and raise a family.
Moving to Winnipeg, she went back to university to take an honours degree in Fine Art and become a professional artist.
Her works are in many corporate collections, as well as at the University of Winnipeg, and she had many gallery shows.
Read more about Beth.
Philip Mukai served as a Winnipeg police officer for 28 years.
Philip, who died on Aug. 15, worked in numerous units, including uniform bicycle, child abuse, and crowd management, and rose to Patrol Sergeant before he retired. He then started working as a special investigator with Manitoba Finance.
He also volunteered extensively at both the Manitoba Japanese Cultural Centre and Folklorama.
Read more about Philip.
Thorkell (Wally) Johannson was a teacher for more than three decades.
But Wally, who died on Sept. 2 at age 89, was also a politician for a time. He was elected as MLA for St. Matthews when Manitoba’s first NDP government came to power in 1969.
While serving in government, Wally pushed for housing development and legislative reforms including to the Landlord and Tenant Act. He also supported legislation to amalgamate Winnipeg and Unicity in 1972.
Later, he was president of the Gimli Rotary Club, served on the Manitoba Heritage Council, and chaired the Gimli Heritage Committee. He was honoured with the Lieutenant Governor’s award for heritage preservation.
Read more about Wally.
A Life’s Story
Yhetta Gold helped many people through her career and life.
Yhetta was executive director of several organizations including the Volunteer Centre of Winnipeg, Klinic, and Age and Opportunity Centre. As well, she served as president of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, Gas Station Theatre, Creative Retirement Winnipeg, and the National Advisory Council on Aging.
Yhetta also conducted research and studies for the Canadian Seniors’ Network.
Yhetta Gold (Supplied)
For everything Yhetta accomplished, she was honoured with the Order of Canada.
“Her competence, wisdom, compassion and respect for the needs and rights of Winnipeg seniors set a high bar for social service agency leaders in Winnipeg since that time,” said Laura Leah Steiman, who was on the board of Age and Opportunity when Yhetta was there.
Learn more about Yhetta’s life here.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
|
