June 16, 1969 - June 28, 2020
Naomi passed away on June 28th, in Winnipeg, after a short battle with a rare and aggressive cancer, 12 days after her 51st birthday.
Naomi was born in Brandon, Manitoba. Her military family was posted to Rivers, Manitoba at the time. She was the 3rd child and only daughter of Bernard (Barney) German and his wife Grace.
She was a delightful child, full of joy, ready giggles, warm hugs, and some mischief!
She adored her dad and followed him around like a puppy. Unfortunately, he died suddenly when she was 10, and she grieved his loss until the day she died. She will be laid to rest with him in the Courtenay cemetery.
Following the death of her dad, Naomi became protector of, and best friend to, her mom. They were inseparable soul mates. After Naomi moved away from the Island, the two kept in near-daily contact. When her mom came to visit in Winnipeg, the two loved to steal away for "Thelma and Louise" weekends of shopping and hot-tubbing in Grand Forks.
Naomi wanted nothing more than to be a wife and mother, so she realized that dream when she married Wayne Pickford, a military man too, became step mother to his daughter Ashley, and eventually gave birth to two sons, Zachary and Nathan. She was always the family anchor, a true mother hen!
She is best described as a Giver. She was a volunteer all her life, even as a young child, accompanying her mother on visits to MS patients, working on Carnation Day, always making eyes light up. Later, in Cold Lake, she was named "Volunteer of the Year" for her work in support of families who had a member deployed overseas, usually to a war Zone.
She served on a Parent Advisory Board at every school her sons attended. When they finished school, she turned her attention to Seniors. She volunteered at Deer Lodge hospital in Winnipeg, also belonged to a group that drove the elderly to appointments. In this group, she met a dear soul named "Mrs. Ellis". The whole family fell in love with her, and adopted her as grandmother, loving her until she passed away at the age of 99.
Naomi's best friends in Winnipeg was a group of older men that she met at McDonald's.....her coffee buddies. They shared tons of laughter, sadness as a few of them passed on, but she was always there for them if they needed her, and they loved her as much as she loved them. They will miss her very much.
Naomi loved to travel, and was able to have several trips with her mom, to England and Scotland, Spain, Portugal and Morocco, Hungary and the Balkans, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzogovina, Montenegro, and visited with mom and Jack in Arizona when they wintered there. However, she always loved New York best, where she visited several times with Wayne and the boys.
She had planned to hike in Iceland to celebrate her "BIG 50" last year, but gave that up to come and help take care of Jack after his stroke. She was a great advocate of physical fitness, going for long walks daily, running, going to the gym where she had a personal trainer, she had daily yoga sessions ,ate healthy. She came within two courses of a degree in kinesiology after taking courses part time at University over many years.
She loved books, and read voraciously. At one time, she and Wayne owned a book store, and she also enjoyed working for several years in a bookstore in Winnipeg.
Everybody who met Naomi commented on her beautiful smile, her warmth, how pretty she was. To her family, she was always the first to come if help was needed, always calm and serene when we were in need of a steadying hand. To all, she was a model of kindness and compassion, non-judgmental and unconditional love, and, as at the end of her life, courage in the face of troubles, sadness that her passing would cause us pain, always thinking of others first.
She will be remembered with joy.
How could it be otherwise?
Naomi is survived by her husband, Wayne, sons Zachary and Nathan, step daughter Ashley, her mother Grace and step father, Jack Willis of Courtenay, B.C., brothers Douglas (Yvonne) and Kevin (Donna) of Edmonton, nieces and nephews, extra best friend Julie in Nanaimo, and many others who mourn her passing.
Due to Covid 19, a celebration of her life will take place at some future time.
An announcement will be made.