JACQUELINE SHYMANSKI

Condolences & Memories (5 entries)

• Condolences to all Jackie's family and friends. Jackie was a one of a kind person who ventured far but was a Canadian and Winnipeg'er through and through. As a co-worker of hers on two separate occasions I grew to know Jackie as a valued and valuable person. Rest in peace Jackie. - Posted by: Trevor Buhnai (Colleague) on: May 19, 2016

• My deepest condolences to Jackie's family. My memories of Jackie go back many years to when we were children. She would come with her family to play with her cousins (who were also my cousins) and we would all play together. Years later I was having a sale in my yard in Winnipeg Beach and who walks in the yard, but this beautiful woman who I quickly realized was Jackie. We had a great visit, catching up on our lives. She truly was a shining star and has left this world far too soon. - Posted by: Cheryl (Malyk) Zelenitsky (Friend/Cousin) on: May 18, 2016

• So terribly sad to hear the news of Jackie's premature passing. My deepest condolences to her friends and family. I worked alongside Jackie in Sarajevo and other parts of Bosnia during the war. She was a ray of light in what was at times a very dark place indeed. It took a heavy toll on all of us - but Jackie somehow always had a smile for everyone. A Bosnian friend and colleague who worked alongside Jackie in Sarajevo during the darkest days of the siege posted this on her Facebook page today: "It was a privilege to have met you. Your vibrant personality kept us going in times of no future. Thank You for bringing the Word out and the Hope in. Thank you for making the World a better and brighter place. You will be greatly missed." - Posted by: Tim Deagle (Friend and colleague) on: May 17, 2016

• Any time Jackie came back from overseas, there was always a get-together to hear about her travels. I recall one year, while the rest of us were talking about groceries and kids, Jackie was telling us how to pick out a good armored car - a critical tool of journalism in the hot spots she visited. Even years after she came back home to Winnipeg, she was getting contacted to put on her Kevlar and bring back stories from the dangerous spots of the world. In the last few years she regularly entertained at home, with the "Orphan's Christmas" party, and would invite us over to try her latest efforts at mastering a new recipe. I miss her immensely already. - Posted by: William Shymanski (Cousin) on: May 17, 2016

• Jackie didn't wear her CV or any of her daring and harrowing experiences as a news correspondent on her sleeve. She didn't have to. She was a presence and you knew it from the first time you met her. Smart, tough, determined and -- once you cracked her seemingly no-nonsense veneer -- kind as kind could be and funny as hell. I had the privilege or working with her at MTS Allstream, where she taught me a thing or two about writing, laughed with me, laughed at me, and helped to make my experience there truly memorable. I am so saddened to learn that cancer has claimed yet another wonderful spirit, and I offer my deepest sympathies to Jackie's family, loved ones, and friends. In the parlance of Don Cherry, she was a "beauty"; someone I'm glad I got to know, someone I will never forget. Jeremy Brooks - Posted by: Jeremy Brooks (colleague) on: May 17, 2016