Jean Kuzmack

January 16, 1934 ~ February 20, 2023

It is with saddened hearts, we announce the peaceful passing of our beloved mom, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Jean Kuzmack on February 20, 2023 at the age of 89.

Jean was predeceased by her loving husband Michael (Mike) Kuzmack, parents Rose and Michael Zubyk and sister Marion Ducharme.

She will be lovingly remembered by her sons Doug (Gloria) and Larry (BJ), grandchildren Stephen (Annabelle), Chad (Leigh), Cassandra (Bradley), Brent (Alex), great-grandchildren Savannah, Maeve, Nathaniel, and Olivia, as well as relatives and friends.

Jean was born on January 16, 1934 in Winnipeg’s north end. Upon her father’s new employment at CN, the family moved to Transcona. She grew up speaking Ukrainian but became proficient in both Ukrainian and English while attending South Transcona Elementary School and King Edward High School.  After high school, Jean attended the Angus School of Commerce to learn business office skills.

Jean married the love of her life Mike on August 7, 1954 and moved to the Kuzmack family farm in Hazelglen. She was a kind, loving wife that happily adapted to life in the country and actively helped Mike on the farm.  Her days were fulfilled with taking care of her family, maintaining two large gardens, feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, and milking the cows. During harvest, she would drive out to the field to feed the hard-working men a hearty meal. Mike was very proud of his wife’s cooking. Anyone that visited or helped on the farm never left hungry.

In 1955, Jean started her journey as a loving mother, and as time has now revealed, her love and care never waivered. That love continued when she became a baba and great-grandmother.

She had a passion for baking and cooking that was enjoyed by many family and friends. Some of her delicious specialities were paskas, Christmas cakes, perogies, canned peaches, strawberry pies, tarts, donuts, pickles, buttermilk pancakes, and cinnamon buns.

Jean enjoyed dancing, bowling, bingo, and her slots. She could light up any room with her presence, engaging stories, countless jokes, and witty sense of humour. Jean was a people person and it was never long before she started a new friendship.  She also found great pleasure in chatting on the phone with her dear friends daily. She enjoyed spending her pastime knitting dishcloths as she watched her two favourite shows “The Price is Right” and “Coronation Street”.  These dishcloths are to be found in many homes of her family and friends.

Jean’s greatest joy was spending time with her family.  She adored her daily visits with her son, Doug, as they discussed her plans and concerns of the day and reminisced about the past. With her son Larry, she enjoyed the times when he shared his passion of wood-working and music projects with her. Jean had many warm-hearted visits with her daughter-in-law’s Gloria and BJ; they shared recipes and jokes, spoke about her early years growing up, and listened to stories about her life on the farm. 

In 1989, Jean became Baba and played a huge role in the lives of her four grandchildren.  She enjoyed many birthday parties (often with a homemade themed birthday cake in hand), holiday celebrations, competitions, concerts, hockey games, and vacations with the family.  When her grandchildren were young, numerous hours would be spent in her vast beautiful garden harvesting and tasting fresh vegetables, hunting for potato bugs, and capturing ladybugs.

In 2019, Baba was promoted to “Great Baba”.  Her great-grandchildren were her little treasures and she loved them dearly.  After every visit, Baba would be standing at the kitchen window with a joyful smile as she waved good-bye to us all.  It was important to her that her family was safe, healthy and happy.

Jean volunteered many hours in her local community where she took part in the Catholic Woman’s League, helped coordinate and canvas for The Canadian Cancer Society, and volunteered at Club 50 cooking the most appetizing meals. Throughout the years, she also volunteered in the schools in support of her grandchildren where she was appreciated by both staff and students.  Little did she know that many years later, she would find herself volunteering at EBEYS where her granddaughter teaches Grade 1/2. Baba found great pleasure in spending time with the children. The students and staff adored Baba and years later still talk about her lively spirit and her delicious homemade baked goods that she shared with them. 

We couldn’t have asked for a more loving and devoted mom.

This last wave is for you mom! We will miss you dearly.    

Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated on Monday, March 6th at 1:00 pm at St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, 516 Atlantic Avenue in Beausejour, with viewing at 12:30 p.m. prior to the service. Interment to follow in the parish cemetery.