It was a great privilege to take care of Babcia after she died; I had prepared for it quietly, & took great care every step of the way. What I didn’t prepare for was what to do next, in the coming year of unanticipated isolation. The grieving process has been difficult, & our family has been unable to hug, kiss, & commiserate over the loss of our matriarch. We’ve been unable to have our first Christmas without her holding court in her chair, quietly observing the great-grandchildren at play & overseeing traditions of prayer, communion, pierogi.

I’d become quite close with Babcia in her later years, as I was part of the errand rotation. Every outing to the doctor, grocery, and T&T was like being 10 years old in the St. Stanislaus Church hall. “This is my youngest granddaughter, she’s so smart,” she would say, & the rest was just a flurry of old ladies gossiping in Polish & fussing over my hair. In between fussings as an adult, though, were conversations where I got a really honest side of my Babcia. She told me secrets & stories I had never heard before, between decaf coffees. It felt like a privilege to grow that friendship, too.

There are many memories of her that I’ll cherish, some are just feelings & expressions I can’t communicate. But she’s a complete picture with all of our memories, a tapestry I can’t wait to weave with family & friends when we can safely do so. “Kochaliśmy ją za życia, nie zapominajmy jej po śmierci.”

It took me this long to finally write about our mother, Anna. I`ll always remember Mom as being gentle, caring and generous. She met so many challenges in her lifetime and always remained positive. She had a beautiful marriage, our parents did almost everything together. Our Mother loved to go dancing with Dad, she loved her gardens, and they spent a lot of time at their cottage.Raising her children was her priority and she sacrificed so much for us, although she never complained. She had a gentle temperament and never raised her voice. Mom was open minded, tolerant and had a keen sense for business when she and Dad had a store. She had a wealth of stories and she shared many of them about her childhood, where she met our Dad and beginning their new life in Canada. Some were sad, some were funny and some I`ll never forget. My mother will always remain in my heart and she`s now an Angel watching over us all.

May 6 was a hard day saying good bye to the one and only Babcia. She has been like a grandmother to me and a great grandmother to the kids. Benji in particular has a deep love for her and always brings up how old she is. When Lorne and I got together Babcia opened her heart and always treated us as one of her own. We will truly miss her and the love she gave to us and our family.

Today was also hard because instead of having a beautiful ceremony to honour her, Lorne and I had to say goodbye to her just the two of us, with masks and gloves on. This is such a hard time and not being able to hug those you love makes it even harder. My heart goes out to anyone who has to say goodbye in this situation. One day we will have a ceremony to commemorate her properly.

We love you Babcia and may you Rest In Peace now. ❤️

Our Mother, Anna, was an inspiration to our whole family. She enjoyed nothing more than the celebration of so many milestones.... weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, new additions of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and visits with family and friends. Her motto - "No matter what we're going through, someone has it worse". Our amazing role model! We were truly blessed to have her with us, always smiling, never complaining, all these years. Love you and miss you, Helen

My sweet Babcia. The world feels less loving without you in it now, but I know you are reunited with Dziadzio and no longer suffering. I will miss your I love you’s, your hand in mine, and your funny little comments as you avidly watched The Bachelor. I will forever remember the smell of onions and pierogi cooking in your home and picking the juiciest raspberries from your bushes in the backyard. You had a hard life and a happy one. At nearly 97, you lived a full life and have taught us all what resilience looks like. I love you, my sweet Babcia. Until we meet again.

Heaven welcomed our beautiful Babcia (Grandma) this week.

Her kindness, laughter, selflessness and loving nature will live on through her many grandchildren and great grandchildren.

I will always cherish the love and laughter that we shared together. Like the time that Babcia was my date for a Valentine's lunch at the Seniors Centre that I supervise beside her apartment building. She spent the entire lunch introducing me to everyone in attendance as her, "handsome grandson who owns the Seniors Centre" lol.

I was so proud to be her "Valentine" and I will forever cherish our picture (above) from that lunch.

Babcia was the strongest and most resilient woman I've ever known. Not once did I ever hear her complain about anything. Babcia lived her life with endless love in her heart.

Love you always and forever, Babcia ❤.