Rita Priscilla Vanasse

October 24, 1940 – June 10, 2019

Mumsie waited for all her “babies” to come home before peacefully taking flight with the angels. Our hearts are shattered with the passing of our wife, mother & grandmother Rita Vanasse on June 10, 2019 at Lake of the Woods District Hospital.

She was predeceased by her parents, Alfred Rousseau & Laura Rousseau (Porlier), brothers Raymond & Clarence Rousseau, infant daughter Lisa Cynthia & special family member Ron Everly.

She leaves to cherish her memories husband Rene (Manny) Vanasse, daughter Colette (Allan) Surovy, son Grant Vanasse, daughter Brenda (Derek) Vanasse, son Daniel Vanasse, daughters Chantelle Vanasse & Nicole Vanasse. Gramma’s passing will leave a hole in the hearts of her seven beloved grandchildren Jeá (John) Surovy, Ashlynne (Derrick) Surovy, Sherisse (Vincent) Thomas, Shalynne (Harley) Vanasse, Vincenzo Vanasse-Barcellona, Chené Van Jaarsveld & Huxley Vanasse-Van Jaarsveld. The seven great grandchildren Chase Surovy, Daija-Rayne (Erik) Krawicki, Marino Kokonas, Isis Rodriguez, Ava Rodriguez, Kaden King & Declan Vanasse will sadly miss their loving Great Gramma aka Cha Cha. Granny’s heart held a loving spot for her special family members Jacob McDonald, her “watching daytime soaps partner” and Terry Gliddy who will miss her forever. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fur babies in her life. Her love of animals was showcased with her dogs Kohl & Dorie. Sadie (Nic’s cat) was loved from afar due to a cat allergy & Topper loved to visit her and jump up for a snuggle.

Mom was born and raised in Kenora with her parents and two older brothers. She was the “rebel” of the family and was stubborn as a bull according to our grandmother. We don’t wonder where we get our stubborn streaks from in our family – it’s legendary. Mom met dad when she was a teenager and he proposed on April Fool’s Day. This was always a source of jokes and laughter. They married on February 6, 1960 and thus began the 59 years of “wedded bliss” according to Mom.

Mom worked full time as a Domestic Engineer. She received her Phd at Hands-On University and her Chef certification with Betty Crocker. She loved to cook and Christmas did not pass without her making her Christmas cookies & infamous meat pie with her secret ingredients. Fudge did not last long around the house and she often special delivered packages to us of the freshly made chocolate treat. No one could replicate Gramma’s toast and butter no matter how hard we tried. She excelled at baby making and was recognized as Kenora’s Baby Making Machine for her achievements through a special family celebration with the birth of her last child. Anyone who knew mom knew her priority was her children. But once the children were grown, she revelled in being a grandmother. She did a lot of grandparenting of the kids especially after school.

Socially, mom loved to go to waterfit classes and looked forward to attending her T.O.P.S. group with her friends. Music and dancing were always a part of Mom’s life and she passed this onto her children. Who can ever forget her singing us happy birthday in her own special way or her teaching us how to jive when we were kids.

Our loss is only lessened with the thought of her being free of pain and dementia. She fought hard to remember but she never forgot who we were. We are grateful. We Love You, Mom, Forever, and we know you will always be with us as our Guardian Angel now.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, June 15, 2019 at 1:00 pm at Brown Funeral Home & Cremation Centre. A luncheon will follow at the Super 8 ‘Minis Hall’.

Online condolences may be made at www.brownfuneralhomekenora.com

BROWN FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION CENTRE ENTRUSTED WITH ARRANGEMENTS.