It is with great sadness the family of Anna Baranesky announces her passing on December 8, 2024. She was surrounded by family and passed peacefully at the Red Lake Hospital following a brief illness.

Anna Violet Dykyj was born July 11, 1945, in Germany. She emigrated to Canada with her family arriving at Pier 21 in Halifax on January 4, 1951, abord the ship "Goya".

In 1961 she met William Baranesky while waitressing at the Lakeview Restaurant. They dated three years before marrying on August 1, 1964. Their family grew the following year with Michael's arrival followed by David, Rachelle and Johnny. In 1977 the family moved from Balmertown to Mill Road in Red Lake where they created lasting memories and Anna remained until 2020.

Anna's life had several consistent elements, but we think she will most be remembered for the way she served and she loved.

Anna cared for others as a nurse at the Cochenour and Red Lake Hospital as well as Matthew Manor. She and her mother ventured into the restaurant business and bought the restaurant they named "Rosanna's" sharing their love of cooking with Red Lake for 10 years. People still talk about the delicious Friday special of homemade borscht, perogies and cabbage rolls.

St John the Apostle Catholic Church was the centre of Anna's life. She was dedicated to serving the parish in many ways including singing with the choir. Together with her church friends, many families were comforted after their loss with a lovely spread of sandwiches and coffee. On Sundays she joined the "gang" (Helen, Yvonne, Matilda, Anne-Marie, Kathy, Bertha, Janet, Nettie and Angela) for coffee or lunch after church. Father Justin, and many before, were the lucky recipients of weekly meals.

Despite the distance, Anna maintained strong connections with family and friends. She and Bill took the kids every summer back to Saskatchewan where the Baranesky family still lives. Once retired, Anna and Bill enjoyed traveling with their friends that were family, to hot destinations. They visited Cuba, Dominican Republic and Mexico with Jackie and Tony, Anne-Marie and Robert, Eva and Alex and Jean and John. They cruised the Caribbean with family before Bill passed in 2011. Anna continued to travel and visited Ottawa to see Michael and Lisa and Montreal to visit Maggie, Ed and family. With Maggie and Ed they visited family in Belgium. She traveled with Rachelle, Jeff and kids to the east coast twice and was able to visit the Holy Land with family and friends.

Food was Anna's love language. Feeding those she loved brought her immense joy. Whether it was fresh perogies, cabbage rolls, mushrooms picked by her and Bill or the much-anticipated annual batch of blueberry perogies, she beamed as she served the dishes to her family.

Anna was an amazing grandma and Nan. Her grandchildren shared these favourite memories.

Justin – It's hard to pick one but I will always remember the greeting when we would arrive at her house and the amazing food she would cook us. I loved listening to the stories from back in the day and mushroom picking with her and Grandpa. There was never a dull moment with Grandma.

Brendon – I really enjoyed the Saskatchewan trip I took with Grandma and Grandpa. I always enjoyed her meals, especially the blueberry perogies.

Jordan – I loved going with Grandma to visit Babcia in the hospital. I generally ran up and down the halls making marks on the floor and then watched as Alma smiled and graciously cleaned them up. Grandma taught me the importance of family and I will always be grateful for the love she gave me.

Grace – while Grace is non-verbal, the bond she shared with Nan needed no words. She and Grace spent so much time together enjoying each other's company first at her house and then in Nan's apartment. They loved to watch for the ambulance going by or stopping for lunch at Subway. During those visits, Nan cooked, and Grace enjoyed. They were often seen heading to Tim Horton's in Nan's van and there was usually lots of giggling going on. We don't think it was a coincidence that Nan left us on Grace's birthday – it cemented what we knew – they were deeply connected and always will be.

Ben – I loved Grandma's hugs goodbye. She called me her "handsome boy" and always made sure I knew she loved me.

Anna is survived by her children David (Fiona), Rachelle (Jeff), Johnny (Kelly), grandchildren Justin, Brendon, Josh, Chris, Nicole, Camille, Victoria, Evan, Jordan, Grace and Ben, great-grandchildren Hunter, Lily, Maliki, Kai, Bella and Thomas, sister Maggie (Ed), sister-in-law Lisa, brothers-in-law Peter and Alex (Rose), sister-in-law Betty and numerous nieces and nephews.

Anna was predeceased by her mother and father, John and Rose Sawras, husband Bill, brother Michael and son Michael.

A celebration of life will be held at St. John the Apostle Parish on Friday, July 11th at 1 pm.

Donations can be made to St. John the Apostle Parish or the Canadian CdLS Foundation through the Red Lake Funeral Chapel.

https://www.canadiancdlsfoundation.com/donate