Gardening was always important to Julie and she had a garden wherever she lived. Born of East European immigrant parents, she helped out in the large family garden as a child. Any phone conversation with her would inevitably include something about the garden - in winter it would be which seeds she was planning to purchase as she looked over her Stokes and Versey seed catalogues, or she would discusse how our plants were growing, or which ones she was currently harvesting. Julie would plant her tomato and pepper plants from seed.

Julie had other interests as well. As a young adult she loved to dance. She would head into Montreal with her girlfriends for the weekly Sailor's Institute dances, where she learned to ballroom dance on the dance floor. Julie loved music, especially opera, classical and easy listening. She would watch opera on TV and listen to CBC Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Julie had a quiet strength - at 17 she started working as a Bell telephone operator - and at 18 she left for Toronto, over her father's objections, to work as a Bell operator. Although she only stayed one year, she made some life-long friends.

Volunteerism was always important to her. Julie was a Boy Cub leader, a softball coach and volunteered at the church as a collection counter. During her time in St. Catharines, Julie frequently volunteered at the St. Vincent de Paul store and eventually joined the Particular Council. In this role, she opened a Drop-In Center to provide food for the needy and opened the St. Vincent de Paul house, where battered women could stay when escaping abuse. She worked extremely hard, but it was always volunteer work.

In her 70s, Julie lived in a seniors housing apartment downtown, which had a large Chinese community. She joined the social committee for her building and found that the Chinese tenants were often unable to communicate their concerns. She asked one of the ladies in the building to teach her Mandarin to help bridge the communication gap. Some of the Chinese ladies asked Julie to teach them English. She did so for free, and more members of the Chinese community came to her. Soon, she had up to 20 students and taught them in a community meeting room. She would spend hours preparing every session, assembling the materials and photocopying. She would teach for up to 3 hours a night, twice a week and spent several years doing this. Her goal was to help her students to communicate essentials for them to use transportation, community services, medical services and to have their needs addressed. She was very beloved by her students, who would refer to her as "Teacher". She met the Chinese ambassador on a number of occasions, and was invited to the Chinese embassy as a guest of honour and presented a certificate of appreciation. However, that part was not important to her. The only thing that mattered to her was helping people and being kind.

Julie's hobbies included researching family genealogy, cross stitching and stamp collecting. Also an avid Skippo player and big fan of Jeopardy - but most important of all, was family. One of her favourite sayings - as long as we are all together - said usually when some family outing wasn't going according to plan. Julie was always happiest when family was around. She was close to her parents and siblings, and she loved having her kids and grandkids around. Forever a doting mother, she always made you feel at home - home has always been wherever she is. God always had a place in Julie's life. A regular at Saturday evening mass, she recited prayers every morning and evening, and read the bible daily. Julie was a role model for how to live modestly but still have a big impact on family and friends.

Julie always sought to learn from the Lord and to model herself in His image, and this extended to the parable of the Prodigal Son. Family was of utmost importance to Julie. Nothing made her happier than to be surrounded by her children. However she did not clip their wings. She allowed her children to walk their own path, and to drift away if they chose to. But she was always there to welcome them back. Non-judgemental. Guilt-free. She was always just happy to welcome her childeren back with open arms.

She would always be ready to lend an ear, listening to others problems, allowing others to unburden themselves on her. She was unendingly patient with everybody. She would sometimes feel bad that she didn't have solutions for problems which people brought to her, but simply being there, listening and caring often was the solution. Her tremendous faith in God allowed her to never worry, and to pass on all concerns, doubts and fears to the Lord through prayer. Julie faced many health challenges throughout her later life, but would not complain. She never wanted to be a burden to anyone, and often suffered in silence. The more challenging or painful a situation became, the more she turned to God, and the more she put her life into His hands. Julie has now re-united with her husband, John, to live forever in God's glory in Heaven.

Ecclesiastes 12:7 "And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it."