Fran Lyons
Stella Frances “Fran” Lyons (nee Kachmarski), October 19, 1932 - March 3, 2022
Apparently, it is time for me to move on to the “other side’.
I’ve had 89 years in this world filled with family, friends and fun. For years I have said, “If I die today, I’ll die happy”. I hope to be with my husband Milt (who died in 2016), my Mom, Dad, siblings and good friends who have gone before me.
I will miss my daughter Bev and her husband Pete, my daughter Tracy who has been my personal caregiver these past few years (bless her heart), my daughter Leslee and her partner Gaston, and my son Kelly. How will they manage without me?!
Speaking of begats, I also have 2 grandchildren: Megan who is raising 4 of my great grandchildren (Leam, Wyatt, Quinley and Sawyer) and Robert who married Kristy and produced my fifth great grandchild Aubrey.
I was born to pioneer farmers Magdeline (nee Zarowny) and Joseph Kachmarski near Brock, a small town in Sask., but spent most of my life as a wife and mother in Calgary. I’d met Milt when I was 15, married at 19, and started a family right away. I did work outside our home part-time at Sears while raising our children and as a banquet manager after they all flew the coop, but really, caring for Milt was a full-time occupation!
We finally sold our family home of 55 years in Calgary and moved to Vernon to live out our retirement closer to two of our daughters. It was hard to leave our close, long-term friends, but they are mostly dead now, so maybe I’ll see them again, too!
I have always said, “Life is hard. Then you die.” But it has been a good life. My final words of wisdom to the throngs who will mourn my passing: “Enjoy yourself. It’s later than you think!”
Fran had planned to host her own Celebration of Life party in May/2020 but the Covid 19 pandemic interfered. This was a huge disappointment to her, but after a few recent health issues, she had lost her yearning to party. She died March 3, 2022 with her daughters at her side. She does not want a funeral, but you are welcome to watch her video tribute, which we had planned to show at her party: https://vimeo.com/572523330/f63a49e429
Her and Milt’s cremains will be interred in a columbarium in the cemetery at Brock, Sask. Memorial donations can be made to the Canadian Red Cross or the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC.ca).