KATHLEEN BIRT

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KATHLEEN BIRT

It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of Kathleen Birt on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at Riverview Health Centre Palliative Care. She passed at the age of 79.

Kathie will be lovingly remembered by her husband Douglas, son Andrew, and daughters, Nerissa and Jennifer. She was predeceased by her father Roy Lewis and mother Mary Lewis.

Kathie's origins began in Cowra, New South Wales, Australia where she was born. She spent many days on the farm with her grandparents in her early childhood and many more days on the beaches of Sydney. Many happy times were spent with her sisters, Jennifer and Josephine.

Kathie was adept at all sports and in particular anything involving a racquet. Her strong competitive spirit and love for these sports offered her much success in this area. Based on her tremendous skillset she became a tremendous racquetball player. In 1983 she won the Canadian National Women's Racquetball Championship for Division C. Golf became a passion in her mid to later years. As with all other sports, Kathie was a natural talent at golf. She was a member of Breezy Bend Golf Club and later joined the Wildwood Ladies Golf Club. She developed many lifelong friendships and a great sense of community.

Kathie also had a very strong caregiving nature and would always put the needs of others before her own. These characteristics led to an interest in healthcare which is when she decided to become a Registered Nurse in 1962. She trained and worked at the Sutherland Hospital in Sydney, Australia until 1967. Adventure came calling at this time where she and a couple of nursing friends travelled all the way to Canada and worked as RN's at the General Hospital in Winnipeg.

As fate would have it, while working on the surgical ward as an Assistant Head Nurse she met a handsome Resident who was from Winnipeg. As the romance blossomed and evolved it quickly became apparent that she would be staying in Canada a lot longer than originally anticipated. After three years of dating this lucky resident, Douglas, finally became her husband.

Always the adventurous spirit, Kathie and Doug decided to travel for six months after they were married to experience many places around the world. No location was more important than the ultimate goal of returning home to Sydney so she could see her family and friends again with her husband by her side. This inaugural trip started off what continued to be a 54 year commitment by Douglas to ensure she was able to go home and see her family on a yearly basis. She remained as much an Aussie even when she officially became a Canadian citizen in 2006. This allowed her husband and children to become a part of her Australian upbringing as much as possible.

In the early days of their marriage, they ended up travelling to Montreal, Newfoundland and Toronto for Doug's Orthopedic residency and fellowship. In amongst those travels Kathie and Doug started a family with Andrew coming along while in Newfoundland and Nerissa not far behind while they were in Montreal. After Doug's training was completed they decided to return to Winnipeg and a little while later Jennifer arrived to complete the family.

Kathie was completely dedicated to her family and was involved with all her children's numerous activities and sports. Anything from being a fierce spectator to driving to locations to making jersey's and costumes.

Kathie embraced and loved spending summers with her family at the cottage in Whytewold, Manitoba. She was an avid gardener and took great pride in making the cottage space a beautiful and peaceful oasis for the family to escape to and gather at. Kathie quickly developed an additional community of family and friends through the cottage life that she remained connected to and involved with until her passing.

Kathie and Doug travelled to Weslaco, Texas for many winters at Pine to Palm. Many more new adventures and friends were gained through these experiences.

Special thank you to CancerCare at Health Sciences Centre, Gimli Hospital and Riverview Health Centre Palliative Care. Specific thanks to Lisa and Dawn and Dr. Houston at CancerCare Health Sciences Centre.

Celebration of Life will take place at a later date.

Donations in Kathie's honour may be made to CancerCare Manitoba or Canadian Blood Services.

Chapel Lawn Funeral Home

204-885-9715

KATHLEEN BIRT

Kathleen Birt, wife of Dr. Douglas Birt, mother of Andrew, Nerissa, and Jennifer, passed away quietly at Riverview Health Centre on Sunday, January 12, 2025.

The family would like to thank the CancerCare and Palliative Care teams for their excellent care and compassion.

A full obituary is to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Canadian Blood Services or CancerCare Manitoba.

Chapel Lawn Funeral Home

204-885-9715

Tribute Link: www.chapellawn.ca

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As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 18, 2025, Feb 08, 2025