Obituary of Mary March

Mary was the beloved mother and grandmother of daughters Nadya, Mary and Ann, son-in-law Bill, grandchildren Julia (Jack) and Alex (Alex), Bill’s sons Garry and Scott (Keri) and their families. She will be dearly missed by her niece Mary Ann, her nephews Anthony, Joseph and John and their families as well as her family members in Ukraine. She was predeceased by her husband John March, parents Theodore Bass and Anastazia Lisna, her younger sister Yaroslava and brother-in-law Anthony Woloch. 

Born Maria Bass in the village of Holohirky, Ukraine, Mary was 13 when the family settled together in North Winnipeg. She met John when he was stationed in Winnipeg and they married in October 1945. They first lived in Edmonton, then Drumheller, but returned to Winnipeg in 1954. There, John built a house for the family in Charleswood. 

After the passing of her husband and parents she moved to Saskatoon where she lived for the last 20 years, first in the St Volodymr Villa community and then for the last 4 years at Oliver Lodge.

Mary worked at the Winnipeg Taxation Office for 25 years. She managed full time work, a busy home with 3 children, and every summer she enjoyed tending to her flower beds and creating beautiful arrangements. She and John always planted and nurtured a large and productive vegetable garden. 

From her childhood in Ukraine and throughout her life, Mary was a devout Ukrainian Catholic. She loved her Ukrainian heritage. As she put it, she had a “Ukrainian soul”.  Her excellent ear, her memory and her skill in harmonizing made her a much-appreciated asset when she sang. She performed folk songs with her sister at the UNF hall as teenagers and sang in choirs for many years:  in her churches, in the UNF choir conducted by Oleksandr Koshetz in the 40s, as a Cantor in the 50s in Drumheller, and in Winnipeg’s Millennium choir.

Mary was independent and resourceful. She made friends easily, and she was energetic, kind, and generous.  Once in Saskatoon, she happily contributed Ukrainian baking and cooking advice as well as becoming a wonderful cookie baking Baba for her daughters and grandchildren. Mary loved all the family cats and dogs as well as the many deer, birds, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks and frogs that visited her yard in Charleswood. 

Should anyone wish to make a donation in Mary’s memory, the family suggests giving to either the Canada-Ukraine Foundation https://www.cufoundation.ca/ or the Catholic CNEWA charity https://cnewa.org/ca/donate/ both of which provide aid to victims of the war in Ukraine, or to Oliver Lodge( Home - Oliver Lodge ) Angels of Care.

The family appreciates and is grateful for the care and love for Mary that was consistently provided by the staff at Oliver Lodge. The Prayer Service, Funeral Mass and Internment will take place in Winnipeg.  

Vichnya Pamyat – Eternal Memory!