Louise (Jo) Groom (nee Johannson)

December 22, 1928 – April 28, 2021 

Our loving mother passed away quietly Wednesday, April 28, 2021 at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. She is pre-deceased by her husband Jim, sister Sigga Moore (Robert), and brothers Tom (Ann), John and Francis (Flo). She is greatly missed by her four children, Heather, Gayle Lumsden (Mike), Janice (Ron Friesen) and James Jr., sisters Rena Arksey and Blanche McLeod (Art), brother Robert (Ferne) and sister-in-law Cathy (John). Mom also leaves behind her grandchildren Mac, Steven, David, Tamisha, Matthew, and Mandy, their children, and many nieces, nephews and friends.

Mom was born and raised on a farm near Langruth MB. Over the years, we had many good times on the farm visiting our relatives there. Jo moved to Winnipeg for nurses training, graduating from the Winnipeg General Hospital in 1950. It was as a student nurse that she met our father when he was a patient there.

After having her children, Mom returned to work spending much of her career as a member of the IV Team at Health Sciences Centre. She was very proud of her skills, finding veins that nobody else could. After retirement, our parents started to travel, eventually finding Whisper Creek in La Belle, Florida where they spent many happy winters. It was there we found out what an athlete Mom was, excelling at shuffleboard, petanque, bowling and billiards.

Mom was a genuinely warm, loving person, who welcomed everyone who came into her life. She had a gentle sense of humour and a quiet competence that let her meet any difficulty that came her way. She is loved and she is missed.

Our thanks to Jerry Floom and the healthcare workers who enabled us to take care of Mom in her home until the end of her long life.