Due to persecution, Hilda’s family left Ukraine in 1929. After months in Germany, they immigrated to Canada, settling in Arnaud, Man., when Hilda was 8. They moved to Steinbach, Man., in 1935. Hilda completed Grade 9 before she was needed at home. At 16, she worked as a housekeeper in Winnipeg, earning $5 a month and sending all but 50 cents home. She worked at Steinbach Credit Union from 1945 until her wedding. Hilda was secretary of the Bethesda Hospital ladies aid and president of the MB Mission sisters. She loved knitting scarves, tending flowers and baking. Nothing made her happier than satisfying her family’s addiction to homemade chicken noodle soup. In 2009, Hilda’s vision began to deteriorate, and in 2010, she was diagnosed with vascular dementia and her daughter came to live with her. After a stroke in 2013, she moved to a nursing home the next year.
