Obituary of Thomas MCKINLEY

THOMAS MCKINLEY Peacefully on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 Tom McKinley passed away into the presence of his Lord, in the company of his family, following two years living with cancer. Tom will be lovingly remembered by his wife Joan, their children, Peter, and Fiona Hillier (Colin), his sister Maureen Crilly (Joe), sister-in-law Mary McKinley, nephews, Peter Crilly, Thomas Crilly (Mary), Anthony McKinley (Dawn), John McKinley, Paul McKinley (Haley) and nieces Bernadette McNally (Leo), Antoinette Ward ( P.J.) and Ann Marie Hodgett. He was predeceased by his mother and father, brother Patrick and niece Maria. Tom was born in Clontigora, Northern Ireland on February 2, 1933 and worked on the family farm by the beautiful mountains of Mourne before moving to England in the early 1950's, where he met and married his Yorkshire bride, Joan. Two years after their son Peter was born they immigrated to Winnipeg, MB, where Tom spent 20 years employed by Sears Canada until he retired in 1997. Tom was a man of integrity, sincerity and great faith and we had great faith in him. He marveled at God's created beauty in this world and he loved to see flowers around the house. He was a devoted and loving husband and father. He cherished his family, his friends and his home. He had a knack of being able to fix anything in and around the house, much to his wife's delight. His favourite pastime was gardening, growing vegetables and flowers, and he was always anxious to share his harvest with neighbours and friends. The family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff at the Health Sciences Centre and CancerCare Manitoba for their care and attention during Tom's illness. Cremation has taken place and a Funeral Mass will be held on Monday, April 21 at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church, 249 Arnold Ave., with Rev. Fr. Boguslaw Wardzinski as Celebrant and Rev. Fr. Henryk Laciak Concelebrating. Tom will then return to his beloved Ireland, to his final resting place in the family cemetery by the Mountains of Mourne. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tom's memory to CancerCare Manitoba.