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Mary Helen Kirkwood (nee Shatula)

August 26, 2019

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August 26, 2019
With sadness we announce that Mary Helen Kirkwood (nee Shatula), 91, passed away at Glacier View Lodge, Comox, BC, on August 26, 2019. Mary had been a resident of the Comox area since 1989.
Mary was born to Fred and Annie Shatula on May 19, 1928 at Carlea, SK. She was raised on the family farm at Carlea with her five siblings Harry, Jerry, Geraldine (Olga), Rose and Stella.
Her experience as the eldest child on a prairie farm shaped her lifelong love of horses, appreciation for hard work, generous hospitality, and time spent with family. In 1947, Mary met and married Michael George Zbeetnoff and the couple moved to their new home, a farm south of Norquay, SK. While raising their four children on the farm, Mary gained a reputation for her abundant gardens, running the farm, and for the delicious Ukrainian food from her kitchen. Her love for singing and playing piano added deeply to the warmth of the family home. Mary was widowed in 1970.
By the mid-1980s, her adventurous spirit led her to spend time in Winnipeg, MB and Delta, BC with her children. Family gatherings on Vancouver Island brought Mary together with Michael Kirkwood and the two married in 1988. In the ensuing years, the couple's home was always a welcoming place for her growing family and Mary's famous cooking.
Mary is survived by her husband, Michael Kirkwood, her sisters Geraldine (Eric) Earney and Stella (Alvin) McBain, and her children (with first husband Michael Zbeetnoff) Darrell (Margrit) Zbeetnoff and two grandchildren, Donna (late John) Riddell and three grandchildren, Zane (Becky) Zbeetnoff and grandson, and Michelle (Lionel) Hughes and two grandchildren, stepchildren Carol-Ann (Brian) Lockhart and six grandchildren, Patrick (Michele) Kirkwood and two grandchildren, Michele (John) Beech and one grandchild, and Karen Kirkwood and one grandchild.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, September 7th at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 160 (1825 Comox Ave) at 1 pm.

Service Details

Celebration of Life
Saturday, September 7, 2019
1:00 PM
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 160, 1825 Comox Ave, Comox


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