PEARL MILAN

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

PEARL MILAN (nee GUDZ) 1919 - 2016 (97 years) On May 17, 2016 Pearl Milan passed away. Her life was a long and rich one and this was primarily of her own making. She was born in Winnipeg in 1919, a time of monumental change in Winnipeg and indeed the world. Pearl was the second of four children, Jessie (1918-1956), Joe (1921-2010) Peter (1932- ). The family lived and grew up in a tiny house on Trent Avenue in East Kildonan. Pearl's mother and father were new Canadians, having just immigrated from Galicia (now part of Ukraine) in 1914. They immigrated directly to Winnipeg, on the heels of the mass of Ukrainians who preceded them. Both of Pearl's parents worked; her father Tanas for the Winnipeg Electric Railway company and Tekla cleaning house, waitressing, and working for market gardeners picking vegetables. Pearl grew up in the 1920's and 30's. She attended Lord Wolseley School and later East Kildonan Collegiate which was housed there as well. When she was 11, she took mandolin lessons at the "hall", which was the Ukrainian Labour Temple on Watt Street and Jamison. Pearl became an excellent mandolin player and later played 2nd mandolin in the Ukrainian Mandolin Orchestra until 2003. Her skill on the instrument is legendary. And while Pearl's formal education did not go beyond grade 11 (paying for high school departmental exams was too expensive for the family), she continued to be an active learner. The Labour Temple was a social and cultural institution that not only provided music and dance lessons, but gave lectures on politics and addressed contemporary social problems such as poverty. This was the genesis of Pearl's progressive political views which she held her whole life. She also learned to read and write Ukrainian. It was at the labour temple where she met Bill, a Ukrainian dancer, her husband (1911-1996) and got married in 1938. Soon after, Pearl gave birth to two children, Joan (1939-2005) and Bob (1944- ). The family lived in a "shanty" on Ottawa Avenue until 1949 and then moved to 661 Moncton Avenue in Morse Place, where the family and Pearl resided. This was to be her home until 2013. The family spent many a wonderful summers at Grand Beach, first renting and then purchasing a cottage in 1956. The cottage experience with her and Bill was also a major summer highlight for the grandchildren well into their teen years. Joan soon got married (1962) to George Wall (1935- ) and grandchildren started to make the scene. Her first three granddaughters were Lorilee (Woelcke), Barbara (Wall), and Carla (Peters). Of course Pearl was very involved with helping to raise them. Soon to follow was a fourth grandchild Kelly, born to son Bob and wife Heather (1947-2015). She was the quintessential grandmother, not only babysitting, as she did on countless occasions, but having a profound influence on their early and later years. Her grandchildren became very close to her. As well as raising a family, and to help make ends meet, Pearl worked at Avon, The Winnipeg Free Press, and Winnipeg Photo. On top of working, and besides all of her music and family activities, she became a superlative homemaker. Growing up in the depression years taught her how to spend and save in a way that would make any economist envious. She was renowned for her gourmet cooking skills and the family has enjoyed the infinite number of meals she cooked and the Christmas Eve's she hosted. Part of her extraordinary culinary skills involved the garden she kept. Every year she grew vegetables and fresh vegetables were featured in many of her dishes. She had a very green thumb! And soon came the marriages of her grandchildren and the birth of her great-grandchildren, 10 of them! And two great-great-grandchildren were on their way at the time of her passing. This provided no end of joy for Pearl and she relished in their many accomplishments at school and proudly attended many of their concerts, musical performances, and graduations. She never forgot a birthday and until her last days she continued to give cash gifts to all the great-grandchildren! Pearl's favourite topics of conversation were current events, politics, the news, and any and all everyday occurrences. She loved to laugh and was not shy to tell a bawdy joke or two. This continued until her passing. Pearl was active most of her adult life in the CCF, now the NDP. Her first political thoughts were inspired by Stanley Knowles, who gave a talk at the Labour Temple, when she was a teenager, on the causes of poverty. Pearl was the family matriarch, the sort of "go to" person. She seemed to know all the family happenings. Her grandchildren and children loved confiding in her. She was a mentor to many of her friends and her mind was sharp as a tack right to the end. Pearl's advice was practical and always seemed like the right thing to do. The saddest moments of her later years came with the loss of her husband Bill and the premature loss of her daughter Joan and her daughter-in-law Heather. Pearl spent the last three years of her life at Concordia Place. She made many friends there, particularly among the staff who loved to talk to her and indeed, vice-versa. She spoke positively about her experiences living there. She kept them on their toes. Pearl moves on to become another star in the universe. She will be missed, loved and remembered by all her family and friends. There will be a memorial reception for Pearl on July 20, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society. For those who wish to sign the online Guest Book please visit our website. Chapel Lawn www.chapellawn.ca 204-885-9715

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 18, 2016