Obituary of Gwen Sarginson

Our beloved mother, Gwen, passed away at the age of 97 on August 8, 2024.

She will be lovingly remembered by her children, Robert (Laurel), Deborah, and Gwendolyne (Real). Her grandchildren, Jesse (Jacqueline), Stacey (Steve), Kellen, Brendon (Amber), Denis (Bonnie), Daniel (Charmaine), Patrick (Jordana), Claire; her great grandchildren Sierra, Tyler, Ari, Kaylee, Evander, Gavin, Carys, and Drew; as well as, her brothers, George (aka Bob) and Donald, and many nieces and nephews.

She is predeceased by her husband of 64 years, Ron; her daughter Diane on August 2, 2024; brothers Elmer, Ted, and Rich; and her parents Florence and Charles Johnson.

Mom moved to Winnipeg from Binscarth at 16 years old. She often spoke about her time sharing a boarding house room in Winnipeg with her brother, Bob.

At 18 years old she met our father and they married two years later in 1947. They worked together to create a life for themselves and their children. Building a house in East St Paul, spending their retirement years in Texas, Victoria, and Kelowna and in the surrounding area.

Mom loved a challenge. Her strong spirit came through in everything she did. 

She was an accomplished seamstress and knitter. Sewing many of our clothes including Deb and Gwen's wedding dresses, bridesmaid’s dresses as well as mother of the bride dresses for herself and Gwen, suits for our dad, baby clothes for her grandchildren, and quilts for us all.

She would sometimes redo a seam several times until it was perfect. 

When her three oldest grandsons were toddlers, she knitted each of them Mary Mac sweaters. For us, she knitted hats, scarves, mitts, and many, many curling sweaters and vests for her and dad. 

While her family was growing mom worked at Eatons part time. Over the years she sold fine china, sterling silver flatware, crystal, cookware, and jewelry through Empire Crafts and Sarah Coventry. All through party sales. Mom became a District Manager for Geniware in the 70's, selling Geniware and recruiting salespeople. It was sometimes frustrating and hard for her but she loved the challenge.

Curling and golf allowed the competitive side of mom to come out. She loved curling and skipped her team to many victories. She and dad would often sit at the breakfast table strategizing how to place the rocks.

In their 50's mom and dad took up golf. Mom became quite the golfer, our dad often stated she had a natural swing. She competed in many tournaments, often winning prizes. She continued golfing well into her 80's.

Mom and dad would spend their mornings playing crib. A visit to them would include hearing about the morning games, who skunked who or how many losses one of them had. They would tease each other about the loss and laugh, all in fun.

When dad passed, Rob and Gwen continued to play crib with her. 

Unfortunately, dementia took away much of who mom was and what she loved. We got to know her differently at each step of her journey. We took comfort that she was well looked after and safe, firstly, at Irene Baron Eden Centre during the covid lock down and lastly, at Actionmarguerite St. Joseph's Residence. We would like to thank the staff at both these facilities.

Mom's determination and drive lives on in her children and grandchildren.

What a legacy she has left!!