Obituaries

(Joseph) PAUL MORRIS

On Aug 13, 2025 Paul Morris, age 86, completed his earthly voyage.

PUBLIC VIEWING TO TAKE PLACE FRIDAY, AUGUST 22 FROM 6 – 8 P.M AT WOJCIK’S FUNERAL CHAPEL, 2157 PORTAGE AVENUE
FUNERAL MASS TO TAKE PLACE SATURDAY, AUGUST 23, 2025 AT 2:00 P.M. AT ST. PAUL THE APOSTLE PARISH, 2440 PORTAGE AVENUE
BURIAL TO FOLLOW AT ASSUMPTION CEMETERY 3990 PORTAGE AVENUE

Joseph PAUL Simon Morris was born on June 29, 1939 in Dublin, Ireland.  He is predeceased by his wife of 36 years, Patricia Morris (Broe), his parents; Simon and Esther (McGarry), brothers; Andrew (Gloria) and Patrick (Kathleen).

Paul is lovingly remembered by his wife, Kathleen of 21 years, his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and many friends.

Children: Paula Tanasychuk, Ciaran (Lorelei) Morris, Cathy Morris (Jonathon Faytone), and Brian Morris (Melanie); grandchildren: Michael Symons (Lizzy) and Ciara (Sean) Tanasychuk, Jared, Haley and Desmond Morris, Ashley Duguay and Keeran Faytone; great-granddaughter: Róisín Symons.  Juanita (Curt) Enns, Belinda (Chris) Richardson, Roberta (Adrian) Berzenji; grandchildren: Julia (Ryker), Kaesy, Lauren (Won) and Allanah Enns, Devin, Ireland, Autumn Snow and Daniel Richardson, Kole (Natasha), Dawson (Amber), Gemma, Jade and Lukai Berzenji; great-grandson; Adrian Berzenji.

Paul married the love of his life, Patricia Broe, on Sept 24, 1963. In the summer of 1975, they came to Canada to visit her siblings and fell in love with the high sky and open spaces. On Nov 6 of that year, Paul, Patricia and their four children immigrated to Winnipeg, Canada.

Paul never shied away from any kind of work that would provide for his family.  In Ireland, he worked as a sewing machine mechanic for Singer Sewing Machines and as a salesperson for Buttercrust Bakery and Capital Paper.  In Winnipeg, he worked as warehouse and transportation manager for Dominion Bronze and Baber-Ellis Papers; as an apparatus technician for General Electric servicing machinery in mines and paper mills in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario; as a salesman for Creative Printing Papers and White Paper; and as an agent for Case Paper. In 2003, Paul realized his dream of having his own company and opened Paperline with partners.

Paul and Patricia travelled back to Ireland several times visiting family and spent many happy summers at Camp Neustadt north of Gimli.

They were very involved in the life of St Paul the Apostle parish as a Catechism teacher, Engaged Encounter facilitators, volunteers and co-ordinators for the Fall Suppers and hosted the St Patrick’s Day Irish coffee parties for many years.  They enjoyed volunteering whenever a need was raised until Patricia health declined.  Patricia moved to her heavenly home on Nov 22, 1999.

Paul met Kathleen Wardell in Aug 2002 and they married on Oct 18, 2003.  With 7 families to visit, they had the opportunity to explore Canada visiting family in Alberta, Ontario, BC and China.  Trips to Ireland, cruising on the Rhine River, vacationing in Puerta Vallarta and Cuba, visiting extended families in Minnesota and Texas providing many memories, adventures and of course, stories to tell.

Paul’s faith and love of God was central to his life.  When Paul said, ‘Please God’ at the end of a conversation, he honestly meant it. He strove to live his life aligned with God’s plan. Paul and Kathleen faithfully supported, attended and volunteered in both churches, St Paul the Apostle and Westwood Presbyterian. Paul was also a faithful and supportive Knight of Columbus, serving as Grand Knight for a term.  He volunteered weekly at the St Paul’s Bingo and Kathleen joined him for several years until Paul’s health declined.

Paul loved to chat, tell corny jokes and stories, ‘only the facts are changed’, he’d say.  He was never at a loss for words.  He had an inquisitive mind and would ponder many a question such as ‘time for God does not exist in the same way that it does for us, so is the past and present and future together at this moment?’ He had a generous and welcoming heart, loved meeting new people, hearing new stories and jokes which he would then often claim as his own!

Paul was always in awe of the beauty of God’s creation. Gardening gave Paul great pleasure, seeing the plants grow (weeding was Kathleen’s contribution), harvesting, preserving and sharing the fruits and vegetables.  He became very skilled at making rhubarb and grape jam, baking Irish Christmas cake and pudding, and making wine, beer and spirits.  He took up rock tumbling as a hobby, and enjoyed seeing the beauty in the stones as they were polished.

Fishing was a love for Paul – he fished across the globe, including Ireland, Manitoba, B.C. and even Nunavut. He loved reminiscing about those excursions. Mackerel was his favorite fish to eat but it never quite matched the taste of the mackerel ‘at home in Ireland’.

Paul enjoyed music, playing the accordion and piano.  He could remember the most obscure songs and often sang the ‘Irish Pub’ song lyrics to the tunes of the hymns sung in Kathleen’s church!

Paul always said he was blessed to have found two soulmates in his lifetime.  He loved God, his two soulmates, all of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and prayed for them faithfully.  Paul was loved and will live on in the memories of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and his many, many friends.

The lyrics of this song were very meaningful for Paul as an Irishman and as a man who loved and followed his Lord and Savior.

Nazarene Song (Come Follow Me)

I am a Connemara man, I was born to be free,
I love the beauty of the land, and the magic of the sea,
I heard the stories of great men who sailed the seven seas,
And I learned the lore of an ancient folk and their love for the Nazarene.

One night as we had stretched our nets and the storm had increased,
A driving mist that was so thick, your hand you could not see,
The gates of hell had sucked us in, and we were doomed it seemed,
In the darkest hour before the dawn, I called on the Nazarene.

Chorus:
Come listen all good-hearted men, where ever you may be,
Our Lord is just as good today, as he was in Galilee,
Come lend a hand and help him out to feed his lambs and sheep,
You’ll have ever lasting happiness in the home of the Nazarene.

There came a day, it blew a gale, no boat could go to sea,
I sat me down and a train of thought came rushing back to me,
My brave old mates with whom I sailed and harvest in the deep,
Had sailed away to the great beyond, and were now with the Nazarene,

     Chorus:

Now all had changed and the past was pain, but I reared my family,
My loving wife and her little child were sleeping their last long sleep,
On my native shore where the wild waves roar, I scanned the glistening sea,
I haul my boat upon the shore, and I followed the Nazarene.  

   Chorus:

This is a country-style ballad about following Jesus. The original title was Come Follow Me, but often simply called The Nazarene. The song was written in 1998 by Irish fisherman & storyteller whom later became a Roman Catholic priest Fr. Eamonn (Eddie) Bheartla Ó Connaighle (surname may be spelt “Ó Conghaile”). 
It is based on an incident off the west coast of Ireland in 1980, when Ó Connaighle and friend, Bartley Casey, were caught in a raging ocean, in an area known locally as “The Gates of Hell”.   

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