LOIS IRENE GOWLER (JOHNSTON)

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LOIS IRENE GOWLER

In the early hours of December 11, 2020, our mother's journey came to an end at the age of 86.
Lois Irene Gowler (nee Johnston) was born in Winnipeg on December 3, 1934. She will be forever loved and missed by her children, Ken Gowler (April), Shane Gowler, and Sandra Gowler (Betty); grandchildren, Heather Addison (Devin), David Gowler (Charmaine), and Nicholas Gowler; great-grandson Arlo Addison; sister Lynne-Ann McConnell; sisters-in-law Marlene Endler-Gowler (Harvey) and Sharon Gowler; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and treasured friends.
Her son Jeffrey Gowler, sister Doreen Brentnall, brothers Herbert Johnston and Allen Johnston, nephew Timothy McConnell, and her parents Harold and Lucy Johnston, predeceased her.
She lived her formative years in Fort Garry, maintaining ties to that area through family and lifelong friends. She spoke fondly of her childhood visits to family farms in both Carlyle, Saskatchewan and Lavenham, Manitoba. She graduated grade 11 from Kelvin High School and began working at Great West Life Insurance Company where she made many close friends that remained throughout her life.
She married in 1955 and raised four children. She held various jobs while they were growing up, finally ending up at Manitoba Hydro where she retired from in 1993. Again making many wonderful friends that she would hold onto her entire life. She was an avid reader and hence very knowledgeable on many subjects.
She had a particular interest in anthropology, which she studied for a while at the U of M. Like many of her generation she never did learn how to use a computer but relied on her encyclopedias for facts on historical matters. She loved to garden and had a green thumb as any who had been over to her house could clearly see. This love of gardening led her to belong to the friends of the conservatory where she would work weekly in their gift shop at the Assiniboine Park Conservatory. She belonged to the Manitoba Hydro-X Club and managed to take several trips with them as well as having some adventures with her dear friend Deanna Neufeld. She did always speak fondly of her trips and had the pictures to show for it. We have fond memories of holiday get-togethers held at our house with several family and loved friends. Everyone pitched in, but I must say mom did most of the work, she so enjoyed doing it and spending time with those she loved. One of her things she enjoyed when making Sunday dinners was to turn on Hymn Sing and sing along while she was busy making our supper. She did so enjoy her hymns and knew many of them. Mom grew up in the Anglican faith and is a member at St. Paul's Anglican Church.
Sadly, her memory started to become impaired several years ago now. Alzheimer's dementia is a very insidious and cruel disease that altered our mom and stole her memories. A stroke two years ago made her life that much more difficult. She did require long-term care and resided in Charleswood Care Centre in her last years. We thank the staff there for the kind care of mom over the last three plus years and more recently for their kindness and care both to mom and our family during this very difficult last week of her life.
During her 86 years she had both joys and suffered loss. She had difficult times come to her but always handled them with grace. She was a woman known to many as a kind and caring person who lived the adage of always speaking well of others. Overall, she led a good and happy life and a successful one by any measure.
She will be cremated and a celebration of her life will be held at a later date when we can all safely congregate again.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to a charity of your choice.

THOMSON "IN THE PARK"
204-925-1120
Condolences may be sent to
www.thomsoninthepark.com

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Dec 19, 2020