Lorraine Senkiw passed away at the Canora Gateway Lodge on January 1, 2015 at the age of 92 years. Lorraine was born in the Buchanan District, SK on December 10, 1922 to Marko and Helen (Secondiak) Ochitwa. As a young girl, she attended Vasloutz School. On June 8, 1941, Lorraine married John Senkiw. After their marriage, they lived on the farm in the Buchanan District. During this time, Lorraine received her grade twelve education through correspondence, completing it in 1954. She then entered nursing school in Winnipeg, MB and then Selkirk, where she received her Psychiatric Nursing diploma for Mental Diseases in 1959. Lorraine continued to work in Winnipeg before they relocated to Weyburn where she gained employment as a ward nurse in the Psychiatric ward for two years. Following the death of her husband John in 1962, Lorraine transferred to Yorkton where she continued to work in the field of mental health until her retirement on September 28, 1984. She was one of the first six community Health Nurses in Yorkton and worked at the centre for two years. She then worked in a pilot program which took her on the road. The work involved visiting people who had been receiving treatment in psychiatric centres or in their homes and working with police and schools due to a shortage of social workers at the time. Lorraine chose this work because she enjoyed working with the 'whole person' rather than general hospital work - she defined her efforts as 'providing support'. She lived independently, at her home in Yorkton, until January 10, 2010, when she experienced a fall which resulted in a fractured pelvis. Subsequently, she was admitted to the Yorkton Hospital and on March 29, 2010, she became a resident of the Canora Gateway Lodge. She will be remembered for her independence and her passionate empathy in caring for others and will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her. Lorraine was predeceased by her parents, Marko and Helen; husband, John; sister and brother-in-law, Emily and Fred Popowich and her nephews, Alfred and Ivan Popowich. She is survived by her niece, Linda (James) Tratch and their children; Jaime (Tricia) Tratch and Tracy (Sean) Raison and their families; her nephew, David (Audrey) Popowich and their daughter, Shelly Popowich; Yvonne (Scott) Hawley and family; Mandy Popowich and family; her step-sister, Ann (John) Bulych of BC; step-brother, Bill (Gladys) Fosti of AB; and her special cousin, Rita Diakow. Funeral Liturgy was celebrated on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 11:00 am from St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church, Yorkton, SK with Very Rev. Fr. Peter Pidskalny as Celebrant. Rite of Committal followed at the St. Constantine & Helena Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery, Vasloutz, southwest of Buchanan, SK. Those wishing to make expressions of sympathy may make donations to a Charity of Donor's Choice as tokens of remembrance, in memory of Lorraine Senkiw. Family and friends unable to attend are invited to sign an on-line guest book for Lorraine at www.lesonsfuneralhome.ca. Arrangements were entrusted to LESON'S FUNERAL HOME, Canora.
