Mary Lotz

 1930-2023

My mother passed away on Sept. 11 at Oakview Place. Mary was born in Yugoslavia, lived in Austria after WW2, and immigrated to Winnipeg in 1954, where she lived for the rest of her life.

My mom was predeceased by her husband Conrad. She is survived by daughter Christina Kaye (John), son Ron (Pat), grandchildren Andrew and David McWilliams and Shauna Cote, as well as 5 great grandchildren; Ashton, Spencer and Bodie McWilliams, as well as Sarah and Nate Cornwell.

Mary had a difficult life.  At age 15, at the end of WW2, the Russians took over the German settlements in Yugoslavia and put all the German people into camps. Mary was taken, along with her sister Anna and her mother Eva to a camp called Mramorak and then transported to another camp called Rudolfsgnad. Conditions in these camps were terrible and many died.  The inmates got almost nothing to eat and there was no warm water or soap to wash with. Mary, along with her sister Anna and mother Eva escaped from Rudolfsgnad in 1946 after 7 months in the camp. They made it through Hungary to Austria by begging for food and sleeping in barns. One has to wonder if many of Mary’s mental health issues started at this time.

Mary met our father in Austria and gave birth to her daughter Christina in 1949, followed by her son Ron in 1952. In 1954 the family immigrated to Winnipeg. Mary’s first job was working  as a waitress at High Spot, a restaurant near her  home, followed by working at a snack bar in Eatons. Her last job was working at Safeway, first as a waitress and then as a cashier.  

Mary enjoyed singing and gardening.  At church services, her voice would be heard above all the others. She also took organ lessons and bought an organ which she loved to play. Mary grew a wonderful vegetable garden and many flowers. She was an active member of the Lutheran Women’s Group for many years.

My mother had mental health problems all of her life. I am sure her life would have been better had she been properly diagnosed and if current drugs were available to her at the time. Mary had trouble with interpersonal relationships and severe paranoia and depression. She made friends but was never able to keep them because of this. She alienated family and friends and had no understanding of the damage that she caused.

Mary was a loving mother until her stroke in 1994. This stroke exacerbated her already fragile mental health and created difficulties not only for her, but for those around her. Her paranoia became much worse and she lashed out at everyone.

Mary spent the last 5 years at Oakview Extendicare.  She made friends with some of the staff there; including Marci and Ami, 2 of the recreation workers.  Staff that didn’t have to physically look after her had many wonderful things to say about Mary on her passing.  They admired her strong will and determination.  It was amazing to see how my mom knew everyone’s name that worked with her.  Mary was both verbally and physically aggressive to a lot of the health care workers who had to look after her and I (her daughter),often would apologize to them.

I will miss my mom, but I believe that she is in a better place now. She is free of pain, both physical and mental and can now rest in peace.

“May the flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” William Shakespeare

Yesterday, I lost my best friend, my shadow and a piece of my heart. I have had a number of dogs and I have loved them all, but Zara has been my “heart dog.” She never left my side and was so attached to me that when I went away for a few days, she would wait at the front door. Actually, she was always looking out the front door whenever I came home and was ready to sniff me and give me hugs when I came home.

In the last month, we knew something was wrong. Zara slowed down a lot. I took her to the vet at that time and found out that her bloodwork was off, showing a possible cancer. She seemed to regain some energy but this past weekend she went downhill very quickly. On Saturday, she ate breakfast and we went for a short walk but after that she collapsed and couldn’t get up. John had to carry her outside to pee. We got the bad news yesterday (Sunday) that she had internal bleeding and a large cancerous tumor in her spleen. Treatment would have very long and painful and with no guarantee of a good outcome, so we had to do the right thing and let her go. Not an easy decision by any means.

All dogs have a distinct personality and Zara was certainly one of a kind. She ruled the other dogs and they accepted her as boss. Zara loved toys and carried one at a time up to her bed every night until most the toys were upstairs. They were her prized possessions and she would usually meet anyone who came to the door carrying a toy.

Zara also loved finding bones and carrying sticks around. We often would walk in the woods next door and sure enough she would find the bone of some animal.

Zara had many dog friends, Maddie, Fergus, Otis, Gypsy and now Kassidy. She loved to play with her friends but tried to control them by barking, which was very annoying.

There was magic in the studio today when this wonderful family of four came for their Christmas pictures.

I think you will agree there is magic in these pictures!