GEORGINA GAIL FALZARANO

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GEORGINA GAIL FALZARANO January 18, 1955 - August 31, 2016 Peacefully during the early morning of August 31, 2016 our lovely Georgina passed away. Left to cherish her memory are Norm Spencley, her life partner of 24 years; her mother Irene; her immediate family ! Ann, Frances, and Joe; her extended family and friends too numerous to name. Georgina was predeceased by her father John in 2005. Georgina drew people to her with her easy smile and engaging personality. She loved being surrounded by music and art and always sought out experiences involving both. She also loved travelling, visiting, and getting to know people across Canada, in 48 American states, Jamaica, and Mexico. In her home, she often hosted actors and troubadours that she had met on her travels or while volunteering at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival or the Winnipeg Folk Festival - which she did for 20 years. Her career was as varied as her talents. After obtaining a Master's degree in Education, Georgina worked as a classroom teacher, a resource teacher, and a special needs teacher; teaching at Stonewall Centennial School, Park Circle School, and John Henderson Jr. High. She worked as a youth program specialist for the Boys and Girls' Club of Winnipeg. She was the original developer and instructor for the Victor Mager Job Re-entry Program for adults. Georgina was an interviewer for Statistics Canada and also worked for Online Business Systems, where she was a technical designer. While at Online, she developed and implemented a program to teach unemployed people with a Bachelor of Arts degree to become Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers. For this initiative, she was recognized by Microsoft Canada for developing one of the most innovative training programs in the country. Georgina also ran a successful web marketing and information design company for 14 years. During that time she developed over 200 websites, including some for high profile clients such as actors and musicians in the entertainment industry, designers and boutiques in the high fashion industry, university professors engaged in academic pursuits and publishing, small businesses, and for numerous products and services. Georgina had numerous passions. She loved all things folk art, vintage, antique, and purple. Georgina raised good dogs; she adopted rescue animals and gave them a loving forever home. She loved preserving food from her garden ! always sharing with family and friends ! as she believed in healthy living and caring for others. Many friends were included in family events when Georgina was the host. She believed everyone should celebrate important events as part of a family. Georgina enjoyed nature ! especially exploring the wonders of the Whiteshell and Whitemouth Falls Provincial Parks with Norm. She was politically active all her life, even during her school years when she got in "trouble" for distributing political literature to her classmates. She was a committed and longtime volunteer supporting the NDP party, and most recently contributing time and effort to the campaigns of Jim Malloway and Jason Scheyer. Georgina's family would like to thank her doctors ! especially Drs. Poonapulum, Sharma, and Wong who cared for Georgina and tried to get her the answers she wanted. Profound thanks as well to the nurses and aides of 6E Medicine, Transitional, and Palliative Care at St. Boniface Hospital who treated Georgina with great gentleness and compassion. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the St. Boniface Hospital Foundation Gifts of Hope. A memorial service for Georgina will be held on Wednesday, September 7, at 7:00 p.m. in the chapel of Voyage Funeral Home, 220 Hespeler Ave. at Henderson Hwy. Reception to follow. "You can shed tears that she is gone, or you can smile because she has lived and enriched our lives." www.voyagefuneralhome.com

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 03, 2016