Obituary of Iwan Witnicki

Iwan (John) Witnicki On February 22, 2011 after a prolonged illness Iwan (John), beloved Husband of Anne (nee Romaniuk), passed away at the Health Sciences Centre at the age of 85. John was born in Alojzew, Cholm, Poland on January 1, 1926. John was the youngest child born to Felix and Jozefa Witnicki and was a brother to three older sisters. Life was not easy for the family and at a young age, John found himself living in a work camp in Germany, but there he met the love of his life Anne, and on September 9th, 1945 they were married. After surviving further hardships during and after the war, including the loss of their first born son, Dad (John) and Mom (Anne), along with most of Mom's family, immigrated to North America in August 1949 in search of a better life. In 1952 the family bought a homestead in Winnipeg, and in 1957 they built their new home, where they have remained since. Dad was employed with Swift's Canadian for 25 years until they closed. He then worked at the University of Manitoba where he retired at the age of 65. Dad worked hard all of his life, to provide for and take care of his family. He was a faithful member of Holy Ghost Parish and was a good friend to many. Dad thoroughly enjoyed fishing, playing cards, and picking wild mushrooms and blueberries. Above all Dad's greatest love and joy in life was spending time with his family; his devoted wife Anne with whom he recently celebrated their 65th Wedding Anniversary, his two sons Michael (Enaka) and Myron (Marina), and especially with his grandchildren, Allan (Kim), Christina and Tanisha, and his great-grandchildren, Cassidy, Tristen, Kaisee, Alex and Alyssa. Always and Forever in our Hearts Prayers will be held at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main Street, on Monday February 28th, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Holy Ghost Roman Catholic Church, 341 Selkirk Avenue, on Tuesday March 1st at 10:00 a.m. with interment following at Holy Ghost cemetery. In lieu of flowers the family would request that all donations be made in Dad's memory to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba. "Wieczny Odpoczynek Racz Mu Dac, Panie"