Obituary of SISTER ANNE MARIE KOZAKEWICH

SISTER ANNE MARIE KOZAKEWICH 1919 – 2020 Sister Anne Marie Kozakewich, a Sister Servant of Mary Immaculate, passed away at home in Winnipeg on 29 March 2020 at the age of 100 years and 3 months, and almost 80 years in religious life. She was born on December 29, 1919, in Parkerview, SK. Sister Anne Marie was predeceased by her parents Theodore (Fred) Kozakewich and Eudoxia (Dora), nee Kohuch, brothers Nicholas and Michael, and sisters Theresa, Natalie, Paulette and Mary. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews with their families. Anne entered the Sisters in Mundare AB in 1941 making her first Profession of Vows in 1943, taking the name Sister Euphemia. She made Final Vows in 1950. In 1971, she changed her name to Sister Anne Marie. Sister Anne Marie spent about 50 years sewing clerical vestments and other liturgical needs. She was renowned for her skill among Ukrainian Catholic clergy, as well as other rites: Roman, Melkite, Coptic. Her work went throughout Canada, USA, Ukraine, Egypt and Australia. She shared her skill with others, teaching novices how to make habits and teaching vestment sewing in Toronto. When the Church in Ukraine rose from the underground, she taught vestment sewing in Lviv and Krystynopil. While in Ukraine, she sewed for the Nunciature in Kyiv. Sister Anne Marie also was an innovative designer. Her crowning achievement was the eight-segmented collapsible bishop’s mitre, used by many Ukrainian Catholic and other Byzantine bishops. In Rome, she learned gold embroidery. She was invited to display her work in “Sacred Stitches”, a multi-faith exhibit of textile arts, hosted by the Anglican Church in Toronto. Sister Anne Marie spent many years in Toronto serving her religious community and church. In Canada she served in Mundare, Komarno, Ituna, Oshawa, Ancaster, Montreal, Saskatoon, Regina, Yorkton and Winnipeg; and in Philadelphia, USA. Besides her ministry of liturgical arts, she was a prefect of orphans and of girls at Sacred Heart Academy in Yorkton, taught Catechism and Ukrainian School in parishes and by correspondence and also taught in summer catechisms and children’s camps. Sister Anne Marie had a deep love of God. She loved to share prayer with others. She was often heard singing praises in the chapel and in nature. Family visits were important to her. She loved to go on shopping trips to New York, with seamstress Sister Nathanael Preyma, obtaining supplies sewing supplies there and visiting local SSMI’s. Before moving to Winnipeg she had recently renewed her driver’s license in Toronto. At age 98, Sister Anne Marie retired to Bethany Home, in Winnipeg. She celebrated her 100th birthday in a vibrant fashion, three months before her passing. She will be missed by her family, religious community, clergy and all those she touched through her presence and ministry. Special thank you to Dr. Shelley Pidsadney her former student and her caregivers at Bethany Home. A private service has been held. A Memorial Service will be held at a later date to honour her life. May the memory of Sister Anne Marie be eternal - Вічна її пам’ять!