Mary Clements

MARY CLEMENTS

  It is with great sorrow that we have said goodbye to Mary Catherine Clements (Bilinsky), our loving mom, wife of Grant Clements (predeceased), grandmother, great-grandmother and sister. She passed away peacefully at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, July 11, 2019.
  Mom was just shy of 90 years of age and leaves behind her three children, Lynn, Jeff and Kelly (Jeff); grandchildren, Jaclynn and Robyn; and two great-grandchildren, Levi and Camden.
Mary was born to the late Myketa and Mary Bilinsky on September 21, 1929. She was third in a family of seven; predeceased by her elder brother Steve Bilinsky and sister Anne Ogrodnik leaving Peter Bilinsky, Alec Belinsky (Josie), Steffie Lyseyko (Oscar) and Virginia Bilinsky.
  Mom was born in the Zolochiv area of western Ukraine, but the family decided to come to Canada for a better life and in her fourth year the family arrived in Highland Glen, just outside of Selkirk, MB. As Mom would tell it, it was a tough life, but they all managed. By the time she was 15, she had moved to the big city to continue on with her education and to try to have a better life. She took classes to better herself; typing and shorthand and before long was gainfully employed, but she would move from job to job as she found better working conditions and pay.
  She had her share of adventures when she was young, working in Banff with her best friend Evelyn, then going to Toronto before coming back and ultimately meeting Dad. Mom settled down, raised her family while moving all around Canada and Europe and eventually we all settled back in Winnipeg after Dad's military career was over. Mom decided that she wanted to work, and with no experience, embarked on a sales career in real estate. As it turned out, it was something she was very good at, and she thoroughly enjoyed those years of not only the work and rewards, but of all the great people she met along the way. Eventually, when she turned 68, she decided it was enough and there were other things she wanted to do.
  The most important thing to Mom was her family and that's where she wanted to spend her time. Mom would travel to wherever her family was; or the family would meet up in her favourite place; Hawaii or their home in Palm Desert. Even though some of us lived away, it never really felt like Mom was too far.
  She met her beloved husband, Grant Clements in 1957 and they married on July 5, 1958 in Winnipeg. He predeceased her in April, 2014, but Mom continued on like she always had. She was an incredibly strong woman in every way.
  Service will be on Friday, July 19 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Andrew's Anglican Church located at 2700 Portage Ave.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Canadian Cancer Society may be made in Mary's memory.
Funeral arrangements are in care of Gilbart Funeral Home, 309 Eveline Street, Selkirk, Manitoba

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