Kathleen Winnifred Nicholson (nee Wall) sadly left us on Wednesday, August 30, 2023, at the age of 72, after a long battle with dementia and cancer. We miss her so much already.
Mom was predeceased by her parents, John and Doris Wall, her brother, Gordon Wall and a sister who died in infancy, Penny Wall, as well as each of her husbands, Norman Brent Wood and Barry Nicholson. She is survived by her three children, Evelyn (Brian), Wally (Beckie), and Cindy, as well as her grandchildren, Tamara (Brant), Ariel (Curtis), Kevin, Michael, Patrick and Jacques, and her great-grandchildren as well. Mom will also be missed by her surviving siblings, Peggy, Brenda and Philip and her niblings.
Our mom has lead a wonderful life. She was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on January 22, 1951, into a military family, so had the opportunity to live all over Canada. She continued this nomadic lifestyle when she married our dad in 1970, who was also in the RCAF. Together they settled down on a hobby farm near Rosa, Manitoba in 1977 to raise their family. For most of our childhood, Mom was a Stay at Home mom, but started a career at Agape House in Steinbach as a counsellor helping women to live free of domestic violence. She continued this line of work in Winnipeg at WISH, which further helped families to become self-sufficient and safe after leaving short-term shelters. Once she left WISH, she worked for Macdonald Youth Services and then, when she married Barry and moved to Winnipeg, for the Winnipeg School Division as a Teaching Assistant, until her retirement.
Mom was an amazing cook when we were growing up and could make the best bread and cakes. She decorated cakes for friends as a hobby and gifted wedding cakes to many of her friend’s children as wedding gifts.
I’m sure we will miss her sense of humour the most. Mom was a master of putting someone either at-ease or slightly scolded with her well-timed and witty quips. She could deliver a punchline in such a deadpan manner that sometimes she would leave people wondering if they might have misheard her. They didn’t. Mom laughed loudly and often, and also cursed loudly and often, mostly about politics. She hated Trump for his misogyny and was very happy to see his mugshot in the days before her death.
We would like to express our gratitude to the staff of Golden Door Geriatric Centre for their exceptional care of Mom, as well as all the medical professionals who have provided support to both Mom and her family.
At mom’s request, cremation has taken place and there will be no formal service. Her family will meet and give her the sendoff of her dreams at a later date.
In Remembrance by Christine Currah
You gave me life
To live as I please,
You gave me love and Support to follow my dreams.
Your beauty lives Forever deep in my soul,
The memory of your love
Fills my heart And I am never alone.