It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Winona Berniece Rowe (nee Vester), of Rainy River, Ont. and formerly of Thunder Bay, Ont., on Sunday, May 6, 2012.
“Nonie,” as she preferred to be called, was born Sept. 12, 1933 in McDiarmid, Ont. to Ralph and Thelma Vester, moving to Port Arthur, Ont. in 1941.
Nonie married Vic Waller and together started raising three daughters until Vic’s tragic death. She then met and married Marvin, who had three children of his own.
Together, they had three more children, and in 2009 celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
They lived on Algonquin Avenue, then moved to the farm out in Finmark until the kids started high school. In 1965, they moved from the country to Van Horne Street and resided there until Marvin’s retirement in 1987.
Between 1965 and 1972, 24 foster children also had grown up at the Van Horne Street home.
Pulling up stakes in 1987, they sold the house and travelled south to Texas in the winter months until 2008. Summers, meanwhile, were spent in Fort Frances, Ont. and finally in Rainy River.
In her youth, Nonie played softball with the Strathcona Dixies and Memory Diamond. In 1965, Marvin and Nonie started square dancing and continued for 35 years.
Square dance festivals took them from one end of the country to the other, as well as the United States. One memorable occasion had them dancing on Parliament Hill.
Outdoor activities were a great part of their lives. Camping and fishing at many of the lakes in Northwestern Ontario in the summer and snowmobiling with the Sno-Surfers club near One Island Lake in the winter.
Nonie is survived by her husband of 53 years, Marvin; and daughters, Lindy Rowe (Stu Duncan) and Wendy Camilleri (Pat); son-in-law, Lance Grandberg; son, Lyle (Heather); daughters, Gail Waller, Carol Wright (Dan), and Leslie McNair (Brian Munro); son, Doug (Carol); and daughter, Karen Newman (Terry).
She also is survived by her grandchildren, David Wright (Claudine), Jeremy Wupori (Yvonne), Lisa Springman (Shane), Adam Hartikainen (Janine), Luke Clifford (Susan), Tania Clifford, John Wright (Cheri), Michael Rowe, Douglas Rowe Jr., Timothy Rowe (Heather), Alanna Newman (Robert Sokolewsky), Steven Rowe, Sarah Faragalli (Domenic), Ryan Newman (Stacey), Daryl Rowe, and Justin Newman; and great-grandchildren, Staisha, Chantell, Cory, Christopher, Ashley, Matthew, Dallas, Madison, Kylene, Ashton, Nikolaus, Alexzander, Dominik, Ethan, Hailey, Avan, and Sibley.
Also surviving are her sister, Helen Kitching (Billy); brother-in-law, Brian Shaw; sister-in-law, Ruth Vester; as well as nieces and nephews.
Nonie was predeceased by her parents, Thelma and Ralph Vester; her first husband, Vic Waller; daughter, Sandy Grandberg; brothers, Donald, Russell, and Norman; sisters, Mary, Janice Shaw, and Margaret Mayer; brother-in-law, Albert Mayer; and grandson, Jessie Camilleri.
Cremation has taken place and a family graveside service is planned at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, in memoriam donations may be made to Cancer Care Manitoba, 675 McDermot Ave., Room ON1160, Winnipeg, Man., R3E 0V9 or www.cancercare.mb.ca, or Riverside Foundation for Health Care/Palliative Care, 110 Victoria Ave., Fort Frances, Ont., P9A 2B7.
Fort Frances Times
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