Phyllis Teresa Gomes

Born July 23, 1933

Died March 20, 2026

God sent an Angel to carry my Mom to Heaven. She was reunited with her husband Oswald, her only son Sinclair, her mother Ena, her father Edwin, her sisters Hazel and Marina, her brother Cecil and her best friend Peggy.

My Mom was born in Bombay (Mumbai), India on July 23, 1933. She was the second oldest daughter of 5 children. She was baptized on October 8, 1933 at the Church of Our Lady of Egypt in Kalina, a suburb in Mumbai.

My Mom’s happiest memories of her childhood were when she lived in her Grandmother Minnie’s large house in Santa Cruz, a suburb in Mumbai, with wide stone steps that led to a veranda that had a red clay pot on each step with roses in them. There was a beautiful garden with an array of flowers such as roses, lilies and jasmine and a well with sweet water. Many fruit trees grew on the property such as mangoes, papayas, guavas and coconut trees. Her Grandmother reared fowls and ducks which roamed around in the garden at the back of the house.

My Mom attended the parish school of St Anthony’s for her primary education. She then traveled to St Theresa’s High School where she completed her schooling on May 31, 1948 and passed her matriculation exam, which is a secondary school leaving certificate, at the University of Bombay in March of 1948. She then completed training in Pittmans shorthand and Typing at Burnleys Commercial College in Bombay in 1949.

My Mom’s first job was as a machinist with the Accountant General’s office in Mumbai where she worked on Remington Bookkeeping machines doing pension accounts of government employees. My Mom joined Air India International on March 4, 1958 as a Stenographer and was later promoted to Office Assistant in the Booking Office.

In July of 1959 a few months before her wedding she went to London, England to buy the material for her wedding dress as well as material for my Dad’s suit.

On December 27, 1959 my Mom and Dad were married at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount in Bandra, a coastal suburb of Mumbai. My parents had three children, two daughters and a son.

My parents applied for immigration to Canada and left India in February of 1968. We travelled to England while waiting to be accepted as landed immigrants. Our family arrived in Canada on April 18, 1968. Life was not easy adjusting to a new country due to racism. My parents worked very hard to purchase our family home at 409 Vaughan Avenue in Selkirk. 

We attended Notre Dame Catholic Church in Selkirk from the time we arrived in Canada. My Mom was a devout and staunch Catholic and enjoyed going to Mass every Sunday. My Mom also watched Mass on Vision TV daily and attended Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral for the Wednesday Novena in honour of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Her patron saint was St Therese of Lisieux, France after having her middle name after the saint. My devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes comes from my Mom.  

My Mom was widowed in March of 1984 when my Dad died. It was a very hard time for my Mom as it was the first time we had a close member of our immediate family pass away.

Through the years my Mom had many jobs including being employed at the U of M at the Faculty of Medicine as a Stenographer, with Electro-Knit Fabrics as a Clerk Typist, which was where my father also worked as a Textile Engineer, Manitoba Lotteries Commission as Executive Secretary. She worked for the Western Canada Lottery Foundation from 1974 to 1991, with positions as Executive Secretary, Administrative Coordinator, Sr. Administrative Secretary. She held the position of Administrative Assistant to Director of Advertising and Draws under the late Len Gzebb who described his friendship with her as one that he “treasured”. He described her as, “becoming his right arm, no task was too small or too large, dedicated to perfection in a business environment of honesty.” She also worked at the St Boniface Hospital as Secretary to the President of the Medical staff.

My Mom was very independent and did her own thing. She was a wonderful cook and made the best meals for every special occasion, such as Christmas and Easter. She enjoyed gardening and taking care of her pet cats through the years, Sasha, Freddie, Whitey and Mitzie.

The year 2020 was especially devastating for my Mom who suffered a fall on her Birthday on July 23, 2020 with the death of her son Sinclair on the same day. My Mom and my brother Sinclair were very close. She was admitted to the Selkirk Regional Health Centre. As a patient she attended her son’s funeral Mass on August 18, 2020 at Notre Dame Parish and accompanied the coffin for burial at the cemetery. My Mom did not receive grief counselling for her emotional wellbeing in the five months that she had been at the Selkirk Regional Health Centre. My Mom, at 87 years old, signed a Power of Attorney document ten days after her son’s death, then deemed incapable and committed into Long Term Care.

I will always love and miss my Mom forever. Throughout my life my Mom was always my advocate.

"In memory of my Mom Phyllis, her daughter Vanessa and husband Agnello asks that seniors take their time, read all documents carefully, and seek advice before signing any papers, in particular the Power of Attorney document."

Private Viewing for the Mattos family and friends

Wednesday March 25, 2026 at 11:00 am

 

Private viewing for the Driedger family and friends

Wednesday March 25, 2026 at 1:00 pm

 

Funeral Mass

Thursday, March 26, 2026 at 11:00 am in the

Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church

269 Jemima Street, Selkirk, MB

 

Fr. Gerald Langevin officiating

 

Mass will be livestreamed via the link

https://www.youtube.com/live/RNuWlSoGoL8

 

Interment will follow the Mass in the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Cemetery

A luncheon will be held in the basement of Notre Dame Roman Catholic Church following interment.