Patricia Diane Gunderson

Patricia Gunderson

February 22, 1942 - July 27, 2025

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dear mom and nanny, Patricia Diane Gunderson on July 27, 2025 at Health Sciences Centre after a brief but courageous battle with Leukemia.

Mom (Nanny) will be dearly missed by her husband Lloyd Gunderson, her children Craig (Joanne) and Nancy Fiebelkorn, David Gunderson as well as her grandkids Jenny (Scott), Danny (Brooke), Brianne (Tyler), Carly (Owen) and by her brother, John Nieradka. She has numerous nieces and nephews who will also miss Auntie Pat.

Mom made friends easily and there will be many that will feel her absence including special friends Helen, Margaret, Linda and Nicole. We also know that she will be greatly missed by her favorite fur grandbabies, Cash and Frankie, who she loved to spoil with treats.

Mom was predeceased by her parents, Joseph and Anne Nieradka, her siblings Mary (Walter) Oshoway, Sophie (Frank) Soltess and Walter (Pauline) Nieradka.

Mom was born in Selkirk on February 22, 1942 to Joseph and Anne Nieradka. Mom was the youngest of five and was always taken care of by her wonderful siblings. She was raised in a small farm house “across the tracks” on Selkirk Ave. For her whole life she continued to love the sound of a train, she always found it to be soothing. After graduating high school, mom began her banking career as a teller at the Bank of Montreal in Selkirk.

Mom married in 1961 and started a family, with son Craig being born in 1963 and daughter Nancy in 1970. She always said being a mom was the greatest thing that she ever did in her life and as her children, we always felt her love. When she became a nanny to her grandkids, she found a new special connection unlike any other she’d had. And she always made sure the grandkids knew that they were loved. She gave the best hugs to us all and never hesitated to say “I love you”.

Once leaving the Bank of Montreal, mom spent most of her banking career as a teller at the Toronto Dominion Bank in Selkirk. Here she made many lifelong friends and retired from the TD bank in 1998. Mom was always in high demand at the bank as she spoke both Polish and Ukrainian, which was commonly spoken by the older clients at the bank. Her customers loved her and she would often receive gifts from them including her favorite gift, fresh pickerel, all year round.

Mom met Lloyd in 1977 and they were married in 2003. They both enjoyed their many vacations to Mexico and Hawaii but Mom’s favorite spot was the trailer in Edinburg, Texas where they spent numerous winters relaxing and Mom got to enjoy her favorite pastime…shopping! She was endlessly generous and loved to buy anything (that was on sale!) for her family. She and Lloyd also loved to take day trips driving to the country, to a casino and to any place that she could find a store to spend an hour in, looking for bargains.

Mom and Lloyd loved their house on Dorchester Ave. and both the inside of the home and the outside yard/gardens were always immaculate. They were both country kids at heart with Lloyd being born in Piney, Manitoba, so it wasn’t a surprise when they purchased a small yellow farmhouse there and spent many summers enjoying the quiet beauty. The grandkids have some great memories of visiting Nanny at the farm. As Mom and Lloyd got older, they found a wonderful community when they moved to Kiwanis on the Red and made great new friends, as well as reuniting with some old friends. She loved helping out a neighbor with a meal, a card or just a kind word. And her kindness was returned to her by so many of her friends there.

Mom was also the stereotypical sports mom/grandma, making every effort to be at all her kids and grandkids sporting events. She even enjoyed a little heated conversation with the opposing teams’ parents from time to time.

We have so many beautiful memories of the fantastic meals that she cooked for us and we shared as a family. Having her kids and grandkids around for family dinners and holidays was one of her greatest joys. We will all miss her pickles, meatballs, egg salad, hamburger spaghetti casserole, stew and dumplings, many soups, the best shortbread and too many other delicious items to name.

Mom loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor. She always took it in stride when we teased her. We hope that when you think of her, you smile, as that would be how she would want to be remembered…as someone that had brightened your day.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Selkirk hospital for all of their care over the years. A special thank you as well to the staff at Health Sciences Centre on unit GD6. We cannot begin to express our gratitude and appreciation for the incredible care that you provided not only to our mom but to us in her last days. You are truly the most special of caregivers.

As per Pat’s wishes, a private service will be held for immediate family only at a later date. In lieu of flowers and in honor of her granddogs that Pat loved so very much, we kindly ask that donations be made to Manitoba Mutts Dog Rescue.

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