September 13, 1949 - April 26, 2023
In Loving Memory ~
It is with deep sadness that we share the news of Kate's death. She was taken from us after a lengthy illness, surrounded by her daughters, husband and other family members and friends in the Aitken hospice in the Comox Valley.
Kate was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in the post-war years to Ukrainian refugees Maria and Michael Wolanyk. They subsequently immigrated to Canada and Kate, along with her brother Eugene, grew up in Toronto as part of the Ukrainian community in exile.
Kate was originally married in 1973. She and her husband (Bohdan Podstawskyj) had 2 daughters, Natalka and Sonja. They divorced in 1990, which also coincided with the unexpected death of her father. It was one of her most difficult years.
Although she spent her formative years living in a large urban area, in 1996 she remarried and moved out to Nelson, B.C. "for LOVE". It was a decision she never regretted. She loved small town mountain life and much to her unexpected surprise and joy, her daughters followed her over the next few years.
Prior to living in Nelson, Kate had been a career woman, working herself up in accounting from clerk to supervisor and finally even becoming a corporate trainer for the City of Brampton. Living in Nelson changed her.
She fell in love with the sports culture: enjoyed hiking in the mountains, learned how to ride a bike in her late forties exploring the side roads in the area and even took up snowboarding in her fiftieth year. It was one of her proudest achievements, cruising down the hills at Whitewater and other resorts. She always said she could never have imagined doing something so incredible in her wildest dreams.
Hanging out many hours at the gym, she was even inspired to obtain her teaching certificates and became a fitness instructor to "seasoned" adults. She loved those classes, playfully strutting her stuff and engaging with the participants. Living this phase of her life was an amazing turnaround; as a child she had always been very small and not particularly good at sports so she was (in her own words) always the last one to be picked for a team. She always marvelled at how life could change in very unexpected ways.
In her life Kate had the opportunity to travel widely. She visited many countries in Southern Europe, enjoyed road trips in Canada and the US and also managed to visit Mexico, Vietnam and Japan.
Kate had been dealing with health issues for a long time. In 2016, she and her husband moved to Comox to be closer to large urban centres, health facilities and also because they fell in love with the beauty of the area. Over these last years there were still many good moments but the auto immune illness became more aggressive and her health deteriorated substantially. In spite of these setbacks, she never lost her sense of optimism and even gave herself the middle name of Nadia, which is Ukrainian for Hope.
But Kate was also a realist and not afraid of facing difficulties in her life. By the end, she knew that she had run out of options and faced her impending death with courage, dignity and love, calling her closest friends and letting them know that she would be leaving us.
Most of all she shared how grateful she was for what she had been given in so many ways. She loved her life. Kate was very kind, compassionate and even in the darkest moments was able to see the light within. She was a very special person, a beautiful soul and many of us will miss her.
Kate leaves behind her 2 daughters, Natalka and Sonja and their respective partners Bradley and Rik, her grandchildren, Jupiter, Grace, Bowie and Watts and her husband, Uwe Karl Lehmann.
On behalf of Kate we would like to express our gratitude to the medical staff: the doctors, the nurses, care aides, the wonderful hospice staff and all the people who have been part of her medical journey. She always greatly appreciated the efforts made to ease her pain and give her more time in this world.
In lieu of flowers, donations made to the Glacier Grannies, the Comox Valley Healthcare Foundation or the Comox Valley Hospice Society would be appreciated.
There will be a Celebration of Life at the Senior's Centre d'Esterre House, 1801 Beaufort Avenue in Comox on May 20 2023 at 10:30.
Please feel free to attend.