Obituaries

FREDERICK (FREDDIE) SHIZUO MATSUO It is with great sadness and happy memories that we announce the peaceful passing of Frederick Shizuo on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at the age of 86 years. Left to cherish Freddie’s memory is his wife of 58 years of marriage, Alena Elizabeth Matsuo and their loving children: Glenn, Colleen (Ronnie), Howie, Randy and Cameron; adored grandchildren, Rachael, Shawne, Nicolas and Zachary; sister, Midori; and brothers, Sam (Clare) and Bob (Hilda). Freddie was born in New Westminster, BC, grew up in Duncan, BC, and was then relocated during the war, to Manitoba to work on the sugar beet farms and various other jobs. After two years of architectural drafting, he joined Smith Carter Architects and worked for 39 years as a draftsman and went on to be a highly regarded and well-respected project manager. In 1954 he married his beloved wife, soul mate and best friend Alena. Together they raised their family in which he was a loving and devoted father and grandfather who never missed a piano recital, sports event or school concert. Freddie was an avid curler, baseball player, and sports fan. He had a love for helping others and was a long standing member of the M.J.C.C.A. and M.J.C.C.C., devoting many hours of volunteer work for both organizations. Freddie was always a compassionate, kind, gentle, generous soul who had a positive outlook on life and he will be greatly missed. I firmly believe that living through experiences from this period of time (Second World War) has been a great benefit in evaluating my personal goals and values. It helped me to further understand some of the more important aspects of our lives such as the meaning of love, compassion, forgiveness, caring and giving. – Freddie Matsuo To celebrate Freddie’s life there will be an open house on Friday, May 11, 2012 between 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. in the Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 180 McPhillips St. Our deepest thanks go to Dr. Pasco and staff at the St. Boniface Hospital for their great efforts, care and compassion. In lieu of flowers, donations in Freddie’s memory may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Cancer Society, or Manitoba Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre.   As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on April 21, 2012