BEVERLEY DEANNE KAWCHUK

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BEVERLEY DEANNE KAWCHUK

(nee KOZERA)

August 19, 1951-May 5, 2026

With heavy hearts we announce Beverley died peacefully at home due to lymphoma. A belovedwife, mother, sister, Grammy, and friend.



She leaves to mourn her husband of almost 47 years, Dave; daughter Kaley (Scott) and grandson Finner; and son Paul (Aleisha). She also leaves her mother Emily, sister Connie (Rick), brother Eugene (Barb), sister-in-law Wendy (Ian), brother-in-law Ron (Andrea), as well as nieces and nephews and wonderful friends. Bev was predeceased by her father Frank Kozera and in-laws Julia and William.



Bev was born in Beausejour and raised on a farm in Brokenhead, Manitoba. As a toddler, electricity came to the area and the refrigerator, ‘ajek’, was a fascination of hers. She only spokeUkrainian when she started in the one-room schoolhouse. It wasn’t until consolidation in 1966 that she went to a multiroom school. Bev spent summers grazing cattle and reading, ordering books from the University of Manitoba’s extension library. Even though the books that arrived were seldom the ones she ordered, she read them anyway. She left the farm at 18 years of age to attend Red River College and become an LPN.



Bev started her adventures as a nurse in 1970 at the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital, working on 4 South and 5 North for many years. She particularly enjoyed night shifts when she could spend more time with her patients. The families she cared for loved her because she always kept them informed. Bev exuded compassion, helping patients feel relaxed and comfortable with her, particularly those from far away who were without the comfort of their own families. She worked with a close-knit group of nurses, some of whom became close friends. Though they endured much heart ache at the hospital, they always enjoyed their down time together and a trip to Hawaii.



Bev said she got married later than her friends because she was waiting for “a good one.” She met Dave and they married in 1979 with a big Ukrainian wedding. After a short stint in Saskatoon they moved back to Winnipeg to stay. Kaley was born in 1984 and Bev decided to be a stay-at-home Mum. Paul came along 3 years later and their family was complete. Life was busy. This didn’t stop Bev from volunteering for everything: perogie making, running the school’s thrift store, and anything else that needed a willing pair of hands. The house was always open to her children’s friends. From picnics on the playhouse roof to gaming sessions with multiple computers set up in the basement, Bev always made sure the kids were well taken care of and had plenty of snacks. She and her family enjoyed annual trips to Horod, road trips across Canada, and an ill-fated trip to Disney World.



It was volunteering at George V school library which led her into a second career. Bev worked at the Munroe library for 25 years and retired during COVID. She loved her job: organizing, chatting to patrons, and helping people. Bev’s love of reading was lifelong; at her death she had 28 books ordered at the library. She was primarily a non-fiction fan and would try most books, as long as she learned something. She started a ‘little free library’ in her front yard, which grew to include a children’s play area under the spruce tree with a little picnic table that she tried so hard to keep ‘sap free’.



Until COVID, Dave and Bev took annual hiking trips; from the deserts of Palm Springs to the red rocks of Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Sedona. Dave cooked and Bev read during their downtime. Dave, Bev and Kaley had a dream trip to France together in 2008, meticulously planned by Bev down to the minute. Everyone got shin splits so bad they barely made it back to the train after Versailles! In 2014 Paul and Aleisha joined them for a two-week trip to Hawaii in 2014. Bev and Dave couldn’t believe how much it had changed since their last visit.



Bev’s favorite hobbies were gardening and attending all kinds of arts events. You name it–she had tickets. Bev grew a big vegetable patch behind the garage, flower gardens on every side of the house, and also had 50 pots around the yard! You always saw her puttering around in her yard. She knew every plant and how to make them thrive.



In addition to her love for the arts and gardening, she cooked, canned and baked; we called her our muffin Mum. She never let anything go to waste. Things were patched, repurposed, and recycled. You can thank Bev and Dave for their Birds Hill park clean-up walks 2-3 times a week. If there was a piece of trash in sight, it didn’t get past them!



Bev was a caring person who genuinely wanted to know everyone’s story. If you were fortunate to meet her, your life story would be elicited without you even realizing it. Her family always felt like they knew people they had never met because of Bev’s descriptions and updates. She did a lot of good things quietly: meals on wheels, visiting elderly neighbours, chauffeuring to appointments, picking up necessities and trying to find or supply resources as needed. She took great pleasure in other people’s happiness.



Her husband and family were of the utmost importance. They enjoyed weekly trips to Beausejour to visit her parents, enjoyed large family holidays together, birthday celebrations and drop ins. Bev always wanted the best for her children and did everything in her power to help them. One of her greatest joys was when she became a Grammy in November of 2023 to Finner. She tenderly cared for him, and as he grew, she was his favourite playmate. Shouts of “GRAMMY!” “Let’s play!” “GRAMMY COME!” were often heard amid games of boat, fe fi fo fum, wrinkles, and rocket. Finner even called Grammy in heaven on his toy phone and told us, “it’s good.”



Our family would like to extend a sincere thank you to Dr. Julie Lamb; palliative care nurses Kija, Angie, and Anita; the CancerCare Manitoba team; and Dr. Tiger at Mayo Clinic. You all epitomize your calling. Thank you to all her friends and family who called, visited, carried her oxygen, and listened. You never realize how much you are loved until something happens. We know Bev would be upset that she cannot be there for you all now.



As per Bev’s wishes, cremation has taken place. A Celebration of Life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday May 23, 2026 at McIvor Mennonite Church (200 McIvor Avenue), followed by fancy sandwiches. Wear a little bling for Bev. For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed. In lieu of flowers, used book donations to her little library or a charitable donation to any Winnipeg arts group is appreciated.

Tribute Link at: www.alternacremation.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on May 09, 2026