Obituary of Ethna SOROSKI

January 11, 1928 –Ballygowan, Ireland
December 15, 2019 – Calgary, Alberta

Ethna Soroski, the joy of our life, passed away on Sunday, December 15, 2019 at the age of  91 years.

Ethna was born January 11, 1928, in County Down, Northern Ireland.  She was the daughter, one of eight children, of Bernard and Annie Mullan (née Rice) of Drumreagh, Ballygowan Road, County Down, Northern Ireland.  After completing her secondary education, Ethna took up nursing and was trained at the Royal Belfast Hospital.  Nursing was Ethna’s calling, and she would go on to pursue her career with her love and energy until her retirement at 65.  Among her early experiences after training was as a maternity nurse to young mothers in County Down.

Ethna, always a daring spirit, wanted to see more of the world as a young woman, and she and a close friend took up an opportunity to practice nursing for what she thought would be a short stint in Canada.  Upon her arrival, Ethna worked at the Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.  It was not long before she met Michael Soroski, and the short stint would turn into a lifetime.  Ethna and Michael were married on December 26, 1959, and the birth of their only child, John, came in 1965.  The family moved to Huntsville, Ontario in 1966 for Michael’s first job as a new teacher, with Ethna working during this time at the Bracebridge Hospital nearby.  Ethna and family left Ontario for Alberta in 1968, and moved to Calgary, where she would go on to live for the rest of her life.  Ethna’s work as a nurse continued, with many years of service in private duty nursing, and then a final move to the Colonel Belcher Hospital, where she worked with great care with elderly veterans until her retirement in 1993.

While her professional career had ended, Ethna’s giving of care to others continued throughout her later years.  She was an enormously active member of the Corpus Christi parish in northwest Calgary, as a volunteer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and the Calgary Drop-In Centre, and as a contributor to helping new refugee families arriving in Calgary.

Sadly, Ethna was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2007.  Her turn to receive rather than give care had arrived, and she was cared for by Michael at home for a number of years before entering the Wentworth Manor in 2012.  Even through the years of her decline, Ethna’s joyful and happy personality persisted, and her family enjoyed seeing her often during this time.

Ethna was blessed with an aptitude for drawing people to her, and she enjoyed lifelong friendships with people she had met in every place she had lived and worked.  In Calgary, among her wide array of friendships, she enjoyed much her time and relationships with her friends Kathleen and Declan Dunne and their children, Corey and William Schreuder and their children, and Rose deSouza and her family.  Ethna also continued to maintain close ties with her brothers and sisters throughout her life, enjoying visits from many of them to Canada and taking many of her own visits back to Ireland.

Ethna is survived by her beloved husband Michael, her son John, daughter-in-law Trisa, and grandson Thomas.  Her family would like to thank the staff at the Wentworth for all their care and assistance to Ethna.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Corpus Christi Catholic Church (Corner of 4th Street & Northmount Drive N.W., Calgary, AB) on
on Friday, December 27, 2019 at 11:00  a.m..  Graveside Service to follow at Queen’s Park Cemetery.  Reception to follow in the Father Trudeau Room  at the Church. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed on Catherine’s obituary at www.McInnisandHolloway.com.

A tree will be planted in living memory of Catherine Soroski. McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH, CALGARY, AB, T2E 2V6,   Telephone: 403-243-8200.