PHYLLIS TERESA GOMES

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PHYLLIS TERESA GOMES

July 23, 1933 - March 20, 2026

God sent an Angel to carry my Mom to Heaven. She was reunited with her husband Oswald, her only son Sinclair, her mother Ena, her father Edwin, her sisters, Hazel and Marina, her brother Cecil and her best friend Peggy.

My Mom was born in Bombay (Mumbai), India on July 23, 1933. She was the second oldest daughter of five children. She was baptized on October 8, 1933 at the Church of Our Lady of Egypt in Kalina, a suburb in Mumbai.

My Mom attended the parish school of St Anthony’s for her primary education. She then went to St. Theresa’s High School where she completed her schooling on May 31, 1948 and passed her matriculation exam, which is a secondary school leaving certificate, at the University of Bombay in March of 1948. She then completed training in Pittmans shorthand and Typing at Burnleys Commercial College in Bombay in 1949.

My Mom’s first job was as a machinist with the Accountant General’s office in Mumbai where she worked on Remington Bookkeeping machines doing pension accounts of government employees. My Mom joined Air India International on March 4, 1958 as a Stenographer and was later promoted to Office Assistant in the Booking Office.

On December 27, 1959 my Mom and Dad were married at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount in Bandra, a coastal suburb of Mumbai. My parents had three children, two daughters and a son.

My parents applied for immigration to Canada and left India in February of 1968. We arrived in Canada on April 18, 1968. We attended Notre Dame Catholic Church in Selkirk from the time we arrived in Canada. My Mom was a devout and staunch Catholic and never missed Mass every Sunday.

My Mom was widowed in March of 1984 when my Dad died and it was a very hard time for her.

Through the years my Mom had many jobs including being employed at the U of M at the Faculty of Medicine as a Stenographer, with Electro-Knit Fabrics as a Clerk Typist, which was where my Dad also worked as a Textile Engineer, Manitoba Lotteries Commission as Executive Secretary and the Western Canada Lottery Foundation, with positions such as Executive and Administrative Secretary.

My Mom was very independent and did her own thing. She was a wonderful cook and made the best meals for every special occasion, such as Christmas and Easter. She enjoyed gardening and taking care of her pet cats through the years, Sasha, Freddie, Whitey and Mitzie.

The year 2020 was especially devastating for my Mom who suffered a fall on her Birthday on July 23, 2020 with the death of her son Sinclair on the same day. As a patient at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre, she attended her son’s funeral Mass on August 18, 2020 at Notre Dame Parish. My Mom was assessed by the medical staff and did not receive grief counselling for her emotional wellbeing in the five months that she had been in hospital. My Mom, at 87 years old, signed a Power of Attorney document ten days after her son’s death, then deemed incapable and committed into Long Term Care.

I will always love and miss my Mom forever. Throughout my life my Mom was always my advocate.

"In memory of my Mom Phyllis, her daughter Vanessa and husband Agnello asks that seniors take their time, read all documents carefully, and seek advice before signing any papers, in particular the Power of Attorney document."

Private Viewing for the Mattos family and friends on Wednesday March 25, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at Gilbart Funeral Home. Private viewing for the Driedger family and friends on Wednesday March 25, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. at Gilbart Funeral Home. Funeral Mass on Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. in the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church, 269 Jemima Street, Selkirk, MB, Fr. Gerald Langevin officiating. Mass will be livestreamed. Interment will follow the Mass in the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Cemetery. A luncheon will be held in the basement of Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church following interment.

                  Mass will be livestreamed via a link on her obituary on Gilbart's website.

Gilbart Funeral Home, Selkirk  in care of arrangements.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Mar 25, 2026