Cape Breton Deaths March 25, 2011 Friday There are 4 obituaries published for today. MARY MORA MCISAAC Lorraine MacKenzie Mary 'Kaye' (MacNeil) Gillis Joseph 'Ted' Bushnik added extra: Anna Guzdziol - Port Hawkesbury, CB ******************************************************************************************************* MARY MORA MCISAAC It is with great sadness that we, the family, announce the peaceful passing of Mora McIsaac at the Edmonton Hospital in Alberta on March 23, 2011. Born in Glace Bay, July 12, 1938, Mora was the daughter of Tom and Gertie (MacNeil) Fitzgerald. Mora was a member of St. Anthony's parish for many years before moving out west to be near her family. Mora is survived by her children, Ron (Susan), New Brunswick, Cathy (Ian) Pandachuck, Alberta, Paul, B.C., Stephen, Alberta; her beloved grandchildren, Ronni, Mark, Marissa, Miranda, Craig and Megan. She is survived by brothers, Tom (Irene), Paul (Patricia), Kenny and sisters, Cecilia and Hughena. Besides her parents, Mora was predeceased by husband, Raymond; son, Ray; daughter, Lynn and brother, Sheldon. Cremation has taken place and burial will be in Cape Breton at a later date. ********************************* Lorraine MacKenzie Born In: Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada Passed Away In: Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada Passed Away On: 21/03/2011 Mrs. Lorraine MacKenzie, 87, of Glace Bay, passed away on Monday, March 21, 2011, at the Glace Bay Hospital. Born in Glace Bay, she was the daughter of the late William and Hilda (Jacobs) King. She was a member of Warden United Church. Lorraine is survived by her loving husband, William; son, Darryl MacKenzie, San Diego, Calif.; daughter, Heather (Barry) Bishop, Calgary, Alta. Also surviving are sisters, Alma King, Willena King and Delores King, all of Glace Bay; and grandsons, Cole Bishop, Ken (Carlee) Bishop and great-grandchild, Aurellita. There will be no visitation. Funeral service will be held at Patten Funeral Home Chapel on Monday, March 28, 2011, at 2 p.m. with Rev. Clayton Austin officiating. Interment will take place at Greenwood Cemetery at a later date. Memorial donations may be made to Warden United Church. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.pattenfuneral.com. ********************************* Mary 'Kaye' (MacNeil) Gillis Born In: Iona, Nova Scotia, Canada Passed Away In: Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada Passed Away On: 23/03/2011 It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Mary Catherine Gillis, Sydney, at Au Cala Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney, on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Born in Iona, she was the daughter of the late Neil M. and Christie (MacLean) MacNeil. Prior to her residing the past few years in Harbourstone Enhanced Care, Mary Catherine lived in Sydney and was a member of St. Theresa's parish. Mary Catherine enjoyed baking and sewing, but her greatest joy was spending time with her family. She is survived by her daughters, Ann (Barry) Nickerson; Mary (Stephen) Gouthro and her son, Francis (Claudia), all of Sydney; her grandchildren, Christopher, Emma Kaye, Jolene, Cara, all of Sydney; Rachel, Halifax and Mark, Montreal, as well as four great-grandchildren, Camden, Jaycee, Mason and Emmy. Mary Catherine was predeceased by her husband, Joseph Anthony and son, Neil Edward 'Eddie'. She was the last surviving member of her immediate family, being predeceased by her sisters, Mary Elizabeth, Jennie (MacNeil), Florence (MacKinnon) and brothers, Neilie, Roddie and Michael. Visitation for Mrs. Gillis will take place at T.W. Curry Parkview Chapel today (Friday) from 2-4 and 7-9 p.m. Funeral mass will be celebrated on Saturday at 10 a.m. at St. Theresa's Church with Rev. Jim Oliver officiating. Interment in Resurrection Cemetery, Sydney Forks. Donations in Mary Catherine's memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Society or a charity of choice. Online condolences to www.twcurry.com. ********************************* Joseph 'Ted' Bushnik Born In: Gillis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada Passed Away On: 22/03/2011 It is with great sadness we announce the passing of Ted Bushnik, on March 22, 2011 at the V.G. Hospital in Halifax. After a heroic battle with cancer Ted passed away peacefully and always had the love of his family. Born in Gillis Lake, he was the son of John and Katherine Bushnik and was a member of St. Benedict Church. He was an air traffic controller for 35 years and enjoyed the game of golf at Oakfield Golf Club for many years. He will be sadly missed by his wife, Mary; daughters, Elaine (Rob) Havelock, Ont., Jody, Cape Breton; Michele, Reno, Nevada and son, Ted (Kelly), Ottawa. He will also be missed by his five grandchildren, Evan, Natalia, Amy, Fraser and Alannah. He also leaves his brothers, John (Mickey), Sydney Mines, Neil (Betty), Glace Bay, Hugh (Doreen), Toronto, Arthur (Leona), Gillis Lake and Michael (Pauline), Ottawa, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his mom and dad, John and Katherine; his brothers, Jim (Florence), Miles and his sister Mary. Cremation has taken place. Burial at St. Mary's Church, East Bay on Monday, March 28, 2011 at 2:30 p.m. Memorial mass at St. Bernard's Church, Enfield on April 1, at 11 a.m. "Our hearts will ache with sadness and many tears will flow - What it means to lose you no one will ever know. God bless and keep you Ted." ********************************* EXTRA TO CAPE BRETON DEATHS: Community Mourns Loss of Anna Guzdziol By Nancy King - CBPost nking@cbpost.com PORT HAWKESBURY - Anna Guzdziol is being remembered as a strong-willed, determined person who was dedicated to supporting the development of young women. Guzdziol died on Wednesday at St. Martha's Hospital in Antigonish, at the age of 87. She was one of the best-known and most respected residents of the Town of Port Hawkesbury. Port Hawkesbury businessman, Bob MacEachern said her warm smile is the first thing that comes to mind when he recalls Guzdziol. "When she walked in the room, the room changed. She was like a magnet, people just went to her and it didn't matter what age they were, whether they were veterans or they were little children, they just automatically seemed to gravitate toward her", MacEachern said, adding she was revered almost as royalty in the community. A native of Poland, Guzdziol joined the Home Army during the German occupation and took part in the Warsaw uprising in 1944. She was a survivor of a German prisoner of war camp and after she was liberated, was conscripted to the Polish Navy under the British Command. While serving at a naval base in England, she met her husband, Wladyslaw, a doctor, who had also been held captive in a Soviet prisoner of war camp. They married in London in 1947. Dr. Guzdziol was invited to Canada in 1951 by a group in West Bay Road, and the couple moved to Port Hawkesbury a year later. Guzdziol worked alongside her husband in his office and also operated her own businesses. Dr. Guzdziol retired as a physician in 1996, after 55 years of practice. He died in 2007 at the age of 93. "The story of Anna and Dr. Guzdziol is a great Canadian success story", Cape Breton-Canso PM Rodger Cuzner said. "After all the challenges she faced and the life she lived, overseas and then coming to Canada, and to make such a great contribution to her community, it's one we should all celebrate.... There are some that give and some that take. She and Dr. Guzdziol would be in the first category." Guzdziol was the founder of the guiding movement in Port Hawkesbury in 1957 and on its 50th Anniversary, she received the organization's highest honour for her contributions. She had been involved in guiding as a child in Poland, and saw how the traits it helped develop in girls served them during times of hardship. "She believed that the girls needed a place for themselves", district commissioner Sandra Praught said. Longtime friend and fellow guider, Glenda Charlton said Guzdziol's death leaves a great void in the movement. She noted she was a storyteller and had a genuine passion to pass the aims of guiding on to girls. "She would say what was on her mind, at the same time those people so respected her that they truly listened to what she had to say and they were never offended by anything they said because she spoke honestly and without malice", MacEachern said. Guzdziol was also politically active, and was a strong supporter of the Liberal party and was respected for her willingness to be forthright. Las year, the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce presented its annual Jack Hartery Lifetime Achievement Award to Guzdziol and her late husband. She is survived by her daughter, Barbara, son-in-law Martin, and relatives in Poland. Visitation will be on Saturday and Sunday, from 2-4 & 7-9 pm at the Dennis Haverstock Funeral Home, Port Hawkesbury. Funeral mass will be on Monday at 11 am at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church. Obit from Halifax Herald March 25, 2011 Friday Anna Zofia Guzdziol 1924-2011 GUZDZIOL, Anna Zofia - 87, A very loved and renowned resident of Port Hawkesbury passed away on March 23, 2011, in St. Martha's Regional Hospital, her daughter Barbara and son-in-law Martin by her side. She is now at peace, knowing that she joins her beloved husband W?adys?aw. Born in Grodno, Poland, on January 20, 1924, she was the daughter of Maurycy and Adolfina Thorn. She led a remarkable life from her early pre-war childhood years of privilege in Poland, which was viciously torn apart during the terrible war years which she spent in Warsaw. As a teenager, she was forced to rely on her survival instincts to get through many life-and death situations which are a tragic reality in war. She joined the "Armia Krajowa" (Home Army), and took part in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The outcome was her being taken to a Prisoner of War camp in Oberlangen, Germany, near the Dutch Border. She was liberated in April 1945 by the Polish Armoured Division which was fighting in the West. She was first moved to Paris, then to England, where she was conscripted to the Polish Navy under the British Command. She loved to recount the story that she chose the Navy "because they had the nicest uniforms". She served as a WREN in the Naval base in Okehampton, Devon in England, where she met her future husband, Dr. W?adys?aw Guzdziol, a Medical Officer at the base. They were married in April 1947 in London. They lived in England for four more years, moving to Canada in November 1951, when her husband was invited by a citizen's committee of West Bay Road to open a medical practice in Cape Breton. In 1952 they moved to Port Hawkesbury, where her husband soon developed a large practice. She helped her husband in his work, especially at the confinements. She was a formidable presence in the community, taking the initiative and determination even at a young age and a recent immigrant to found the town's first Girl Guide group in 1957. A year later, the first Brownie packs were formed. She loved camping, and organized camps for the Girl Guides in New Campbelton and in St. Georges Channel. She took her Guides on trips to Prince Edward Island, and to Quebec. She was a District Commissioner and held the Office of the Deputy Provincial Commissioner in 1967. She was awarded the Girl Guide Medal of Merit, the May Flower Medal, and the Life Membership. In 2007, she received the Beaver Medal, the highest award presented by the National Girl Guide movement, to recognize her efforts. She received the "Croix de Combattants" order in 1971 and the Queen Jubilee Medal in 1977. She was a member of the first Status of Women. She was President of the Liberal Women's Commission in 1990. She was a member of the Chamber of Commerce and of the Board of Directors of the Innkeepers Guild of Nova Scotia. She was nominated "Woman Entrepreneur" in 1999, and was bestowed by the Port Hawkesbury Chamber of Commerce in 2010 the prestigious Jack Hartery Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of the business contribution that she and her late husband made to the community. She had a very special way of dealing with people, bringing a cheerful mood to any meeting, social function, or supermarket. She loved to be amongst people, and was excellent in public relations. She owned and managed the Viking Motel in Port Hastings and then Troy Lodge Cottages. She loved travelling, be it to Europe, India, or Mexico. She was passionate about politics, and a staunch liberal, attending many of the liberal conventions throughout Canada. She was a very religious person, participating actively in St. Joseph Parish, elected to the Parish Council in 1998 for a 4-year-term. She enjoyed life and her joy of life was infectious on others. She is survived by her daughter Barbara, and her husband Martin, and relatives in Poland. Visitation will be Saturday and Sunday 2-4 and 7-9 pm, with a Vigil Service at 2 p.m., Saturday and a Legion Service at 7 p.m., Sunday all in Dennis Haverstock Funeral Home, Port Hawkesbury. Funeral Mass will be 11 a.m. Monday, March 28, in St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, with Father Andrew Boyd officiating. Burial in the parish cemetery. Donations in memory of Anna Guzdziol may be made to the Girl Guides of Canada, Canadian Cancer Society. St. Joseph Cemetery Fund, or a charity of your choice. Words of comfort may be forwarded to the family at: www.haverstocks.com ******************************************************************************************************* Cape Breton Deaths courtesy of CBGHA http://www.cbgen.org