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You never know who has changed your life until you look back years later at the breadcrumbs left behind you.
For me, Rene Mauthe was one of those people.
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In fact, if not for Rene, who died Feb. 15 after a long battle with cancer, I wouldn’t be in Winnipeg, had a career here and raised a family here.
I first met Rene, who we joked was the pride of Plumas, when the two of us were at the then-named University of Western Ontario in a master of arts in journalism program.
We were part of a tight cohort of students who studied hard and hung out together — pretty easy when the pub was only one flight down from your classes — for a solid 12 months.
A few months into the program, we had to find a place to do a month-long internship and Rene encouraged this born-and-raised Ontario boy to apply with him to the Winnipeg Free Press because his sister had a spare bedroom in her Wolseley-area apartment.
I did — and a few weeks later I was rejected by the Free Press. As it turned out, the Free Press — which would later reject me one more time — was only hiring one intern for Christmas and January that year, and Rene was that intern.
That’s when a professor told me there was another paper in Winnipeg I could apply for — the Winnipeg Sun. I applied there, was accepted, worked there for the month, and was told I had a job waiting for me when I graduated. A few months later, I was a Winnipegger.
A few months after arriving at the Sun, I was able to return the favour by telling Rene there was an opening at the Sun, which he applied for and was hired. We worked together there for awhile and then I was hired by the Free Press — third time’s the charm — and we gradually lost touch.
Rene was born in Gladstone in 1959, and grew up in nearby Plumas. He graduated from Brandon University before heading to Western.
He later went to Edmonton where he was a writer with the Edmonton Examiner, did freelance writing and worked as a web-content writer with the City of Edmonton.
Besides his intellect, Rene seemed to know something about everything. I particularly remember how he forcefully disparaged eggs in Ontario — too bright of a yellow yolk, which he surmised was because the chickens there were fed corn unlike ones on the Prairies on a grain diet.
I’m sad to see Rene died after a long battle with cancer.
Wherever Rene is now, thank you for the invite to Winnipeg and for the life I’ve had here ever since.
Rene is survived by eight sisters, one brother and numerous nieces and nephews.
Read more about Rene.
How They Lived
Anne Bazan loved teaching students.
Anne, who was 99 when she died Jan. 22, began teaching after high school when she was only 17 and had obtained a teaching certificate.
She was in her 50s when she decided to go back to university to get her Bachelor of Education degree.
Her family said not only did she love teaching her students, some of them continued to stay in touch with her through the years until she died.
Read more about Anne.
Dan Bernaerdt joined the Royal Canadian Navy but his most formidable weapon was a bowling ball.
That’s because Dan, who died Feb. 24, was only 16 when he enlisted. For a while, Dan was known as the best bowler in the Canadian Armed Forces and he displayed his skills at tournaments around the world.
After the navy, he returned to Winnipeg and worked with public-service organizations.
Dan started as director of donor relations with the Canadian Red Cross before becoming executive director at the Big Brothers of Winnipeg and later the Arthritis Society of Manitoba.
Read more about Dan.
Diamonds were Judith Nemeth’s best friends.
Judith, who was 77 when she died Feb. 15, worked in the Health Sciences Centre’s physiotherapy department as a nurse’s aide for many years.
In addition to the care she brought to people in her day job, she was also vice president of the family business: Nemeth Diamonds.
Read more about Judith.
Bob Burgess was a drag icon.
Bob, who died on Jan. 30, at the age of 67, would dress to become Gloria Booths.
Bob often performed with his partner Brett, who was Pictoria Secrete; together they were known as Picky and Gloria.
The pair were longtime mainstays at Pride events and Premier Wab Kinew posted on social media he had “shared joyful moments” at parades with them.
Read more about Bob.
Agnes Funk survived the Holocaust thanks to her parents.
That’s because Agnes, who was 98 when she died Feb. 18, was placed with righteous neighbours in Hungary during the Second World War. Agnes’s dad died in a concentration camp, while her mom survived.
Later, Agnes, her husband and kids left Hungary, after the Soviets entered the country in 1956, by bribing their way to the Austrian border. They arrived in Winnipeg the next year and later she brought her mother to join them here.
Read more about Agnes.
A Life’s Story
Paul Allen Desjarlais was better known as Big Al Desjarlais.
Al was an award-winning Métis musician who fronted his own group in the 1980s, even winning an award from what’s now known as the Manitoba Country Music Association.
His family said whenever his accolades came up he would agree he was famous but “famous in a 100-mile radius.”
For two decades, Al owned and operated Elsie Bear’s Kitchen inside the Manitoba Metis Federation’s headquarters.
Read more about Al’s life.
Al Desjarlais’s music career took off in the 1980s. (Supplied)
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
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