JOYCE EDNA WYRCHOWNY

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JOYCE EDNA WYRCHOWNY

(nee MACCARTHY)

July 29, 1936 - December 28, 2022

At 6:00 p.m. on December 28, our Mother to Neil (Norma) and Garth (Jennifer), Grandmother to Alycia, Paul, Sean, and Samantha, Great-grandmother to Haven, coach and dear friend to many, arrived home to join her husband Nick, parents Sylva and Charlie MacCarthy, sister Carmel Buchanan, many aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, extended family and innumerable friends.



Born in Ste Rose du lac and raised on a farm four miles north of town, mom loved to chat about her memories. The family farm was situated on a sprawling prairie landscape where the tree-fringed creek traversing the property provided countless hours of entertainment. Mom, and her big sister Carmel, would skate and swim as the seasons dictated, and for as long as their pet lamb permitted. Ginger, mom’s horse, was gentle and could be ridden without a bridle, whereas Carmel’s would stop so suddenly she would often be thrown off. But Carmel was no quitter. She would try riding her horse many more times before admitting that the horse couldn’t be broken. Family and friends were ever present, and for entertainment, her mother Sylva would play piano, while her uncle Victor would play the violin. Her dad Charlie, and her sister Carmel were both wonderful baseball players. And although an ardent spectator, mom would prefer to golf the summer away while waiting for winter, and curling, to arrive. Presciently, the first curling rink was built in Ste Rose just shortly after Mom was born, for she started curling as soon as she was strong enough to push a 45 lb rock from one end of the ice to the other.



Mom graduated from St Charles Catholic School in 1954 and met Nick Wyrchowny in 1956. After a brief romance Mom agreed to marry dad, provided he learned how to dance. The family is living proof that he did, indeed, learn how to dance.



They went golfing for their honeymoon. And as dad liked to tell the story, "It rained one day…" and their oldest son Neil was born 9 months later. Living about a year each in Rivers MB and then Winnipeg, they found a true home in Stonewall MB. A small town, much like Ste Rose, where she could curl, and find amazing new friends.



Mom and dad moved to Stonewall in 1961 on a Saturday, mom started curling on the Monday -- and she never stopped. Mom and her team won 17 club championships, and they participated in no less than 30 Provincials. Together with lifelong friends Barb and Garry Fenske, and husband Nick, started the Junior Curling Club in Stonewall where they coached junior curling for 25 years. She and dad coached Special Olympics Curling for many more years after and lead the Manitoba team to a gold medal in Ottawa in 2000, followed up by a silver medal in PEI 4 years later. Mom was also responsible for introducing the game of stick curling to Stonewall, and continued to volunteer till ability would no longer permit. And for this incredible devotion to the sport, mom was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from Curl Manitoba in October of 2022.



Mom loved curling, golfing, and dancing. She baked, cooked, gardened, canned, and, most importantly, loved sharing it all with friends and family. Although she was the curling club doyenne, she was also an exemplary mother, loving grandmother, and the best GG. All birthdays, holidays and events were special, but Christmas at home was simply magic.



In the last years, mom was functioning with decreased and diminishing capacity. If it weren’t for the love, help and support of friends and relatives, too numerous to adequately indicate, she could not have lived ostensibly independent of assistance for as long as she did. So to Dorothy, Marvin and Marilyn, Denis and Diane, and a veritable cadre of helpful, kind, and thoughtful friends and relatives-- to home care workers Ella, Karen, et al, Drs Ventor, Homyk and Pinniger, Nurses and support staff, Erin, Janice, Paige, Kristin, Chelsea, Mindy, Donna, Sharon, Julie, Ry, Nav and Lindsey the family can’t thank you all enough for keeping our mom safe and strong.



PS: And whoever tucks her in tonight, please remember that she likes to leave the hallway light on.



You didn’t leave, you simply arrived before us.

à bientôt maman

A mass and Celebration of Life will be held at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Stonewall MB on Saturday, July 29 at 10:30 a.m.



The interment (only) will be held at the Ste Rose Cemetery in Ste Rose du lac MB on Sunday, July 30th at 1:30 p.m.



In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to CancerCare Manitoba Foundation or the Manitoba Lung Association.

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 15, 2023