ALICE MARY THOMPSON (VAN PARYS)

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ALICE MARY THOMPSON (nee VAN PARYS) Alice, formerly of Yorkton, Sask. and Winnipeg, succumbed to cancer Friday, July 2, 2004 at the Fort St. John, B.C., hospital, with family members at her side. Alice is survived by her daughter Colleen and son-in-law Michal Dwojak, her sons Philip and Patrick McKinley, her grandchildren Les, Tricia and Danielle Dwojak (Derek Nyeste) and Brendan and Heather McKinley, and her great-granddaughter Sharon Dwojak, as well as her sister Roseanne (Ed) Curtis, brothers Bill (Ethel) and Ed (Arlie) Van Parys and John Burant, her second daughter Darlene Lang and her dear friends Kathleen and John Thiess and Dolores and Rene Boulet, as well as numerous nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. She was predeceased by her mother Katie, brothers Art and Bob, sisters Cecilia Van Parys and Rita Becker, as well as her former husband Dick McKinley and longtime companion Ken Parsons. Alice was born in Yorkton on Jan. 10, 1923 and raised on a farm there, often travelling to and from school on horseback. One of her fondest memories was of her devoted mother trudging through the snow to greet her children on their way home from school. Alice worked in a variety of waiting and clerical jobs in Yorkton and in Winnipeg, where she met and married Dick and brought up their three children. She worked for several years in Winnipeg for Sears Canada. Her kindness earned her many friends in West Kildonan and Winnipegs North End, where she lived for most of her life. In her later years she moved to Fort St. John to be near her grandchildren. A memorial gathering has been held in Fort St. John and her remains have been cremated. Alice will be interred in Winnipeg at a later date. Alices family would like to thank the staff of Fort St. John Hospital for their kindness and care. We would also like to thank those responsible for the hospitals palliative care facility, which enabled Alice to die with the dignity she deserved. Those so wishing may make a donation in her memory to the Canadian Cancer Society or to the Fort St. John Hospital Auxiliary, 10912 96th Street, Fort St. John, British Columbia, VIJ 3R7.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jul 10, 2004