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John Ferencz literally worked his way from the ground up at the embroidery company he worked for — from sweeping floors to managing the company.
John, who was 83 when he died on Feb. 7, always knew he could do even more, possibly because he had to do more than many starting when he was young.
He was born in Hungary and spent his youth in Budapest; he was 14 when he escaped the country in 1956 during the Hungarian Revolution that was crushed by the Soviet Union.
John and his parents spent a year in Yugoslavia before immigrating to Canada.
Arriving in Winnipeg, John had to fight again — this time for his health. He contracted rheumatic fever and spent his first year here in Deer Lodge Hospital.
John started working part-time at JD Products, a contract embroidery company, sweeping floors. He rose through the ranks until he was operating the entire business.
In 1977, he decided to go out on his own, founding All Canadian Emblem Corporation. He soon had notable clients including the Winnipeg Jets, Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the National Hockey League.
The company continues today under two of his three sons.
John never forgot his Hungarian roots. One of this favourite places was the Austrian-Hungarian Society clubhouse at Salter Street and Pritchard Avenue.
He volunteered with many organizations, including the Knights of Columbus, the MS Society and the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
Besides his three sons, John is survived by Denise, his wife of 54 years, and two grandchildren.
Read more about John.
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How They Lived
Carol Aitkenhead took pride in providing people with food they’d love.
Carol, who was 75 when she died on Jan. 10, worked weekends during high school at Rose Marie Catering and at just 16 years old was managing and running catering services.
Even when she was working full-time as an assistant to the vice president at Labatt’s Brewery, Carol worked weekends at her mother’s business, Ludwick Catering.
Carol eventually joined Ludwick full time with her husband, who passed in 1994. She and her mother continued as partners in the business, and in 2006, they helped found Perfect Pierogies, which you can buy in stores today.
Read more about Carol.
Fred Bennett helped work on the the Avro Arrow — then pivoted to the beer industry.
Fred, who died on Feb. 11 at 96 years of age, was born in a small fishing village in Newfoundland and worked for a short time at the Gander Airport before moving to Toronto.
There, Fred was hired by Canadian Avro Aircraft, which was creating the CF-105 Arrow supersonic fighter jet.
After the Diefenbaker government suddenly cancelled the program in 1959, Fred became one of more than 14,000 workers who were laid off.
Fred was hired by Molson Breweries and, through the decades, rose through management positions in Toronto, Regina and finally Winnipeg.
Read more about Fred.
Josie Ferniuk lived a long, productive, independent life.
Josie, who a month shy of her 105th birthday when she died on Feb. 15, grew up on a farm in the Interlake and considered farming as a career — but moved into the restaurant business with her husband.
The couple ran a restaurant in Selkirk, then moved to Winnipeg to own Lindy’s Grill in St. Boniface.
After her husband died in 1964, she continued in the industry, running the Ivanhoe Restaurant and Camelot Lounge in downtown Winnipeg before, later converting it into a Gondola Pizza restaurant.
At the same time she studied insurance sales, and later still became a realtor, purchased rental properties and invested in the stock market. She managed her own portfolio into her 90s and lived independently in her apartment until she was nearly 104.
Read more about Josie.
George Munroe was a pillar in the Indigenous community.
George, who died on Feb. 17 at age 81, formed the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood in 1967; the organization is now known as the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.
He went on to be elected to Winnipeg’s city council in 1971, and he was Sagkeeng First Nation’s chief executive officer in 1993.
George was the longtime executive director of the Indian and Metis Friendship Centre in Winnipeg. He served as vice-president of the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, and was an elder at both Yellowquill College and the Circle of Life Thunderbird House.
Read more about George.
Diane Payment was a historian who specialized in Louis Riel and the Métis people.
Diane, who was 80 when she died on Jan. 25, worked as a history teacher at Louis Riel Collegiate before going to the University of Ottawa to study Métis history. She wrote The Métis of Western Canada as her thesis and graduated with a master’s degree.
She was hired by Parks Canada as a historian and her research was used in the restoration of the Maison Riel and Batoche national historic sites. She also wrote the book The Free People – Otipemisiwak, Batoche, Saskatchewan, 1870-1930 in 1990.
For her work on Métis history, the Canadian Historical Association honoured her with a certificate of merit in regional history.
Read more about Diane.
Calum Jensen loved music.
Calum, who died suddenly on Feb. 13 at 31 years of age, graduated from McGill University with a bachelor and masters in music composition and from the State University of New York with a masters in music composition.
He was taking his PhD in music history at the University of Chicago when he died. His family notes an eminent musicologist said they hadn’t met “a more promising scholar, a more thoughtful interlocutor, a more generous collaborator.”
Read more about Calum.
Carmen Nembhardt was born in Jamaica and trained there as a teacher.
Carmen, who died on Feb. 18, came to Canada in 1960, went to the University of Manitoba, and worked in the Winnipeg School Division, becoming a teacher and then a guidance counsellor.
She served for many years as Manitoba’s honorary consul for Jamaica.
Read more about Carmen.
A Life’s Story
Kevin Horn helped light the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Kevin Horn, who died in July at the age of 68, spent four decades working as an electrician. He also played as hard as he worked, enjoying classic rock, good food and travel to warm climes. (Supplied)
That’s because Kevin, an electrician by trade, installed all the back lighting for the alabaster stone walkways as well as the lights at the top of the building’s 100-metre glass pinnacle.
“He loved that job,” his daughter Angie said. “He would come home and he would always talk about the alabaster staircase… and he loved that big spire.
“It was something he was really proud of.”
Read more about Kevin’s life in our weekly A Life’s Story feature.
Until next time, I hope you continue to write your own life’s story.
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