Manitoba

Lives of COVID-19 victims serve as stark reminder of pandemic's ongoing toll in Manitoba

They were parents, grandparents, children, and cousins. CBC News has compiled a list of the names of 100 Manitobans who have died as a result of COVID-19, as reported in media stories or published in obituaries.

CBC has compiled a list of 100 people lost to COVID-19 — a fraction of the more than 1,000 Manitobans lost

A memorial along the Assiniboine River trail in Winnipeg in February honoured the hundreds of Manitobans who had died of COVID-19 to that point. More than 1,000 have now lost their lives to the illness. (Travis Golby/CBC)

They were parents, grandparents, children, and cousins. Some worked on the front lines in health care, others worked essential service jobs in grocery stores, but all filled a vital role in the lives of the friends and family who they left behind when COVID-19 took them.

CBC News has compiled a list of the names of 100 of the more than 1,000 Manitobans who have died as a result of COVID-19, as reported in media stories or published in obituaries.

The illness caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 claimed its first victim in Manitoba on March 26, 2020. It took nearly eight months for Manitoba to record its first 100 deaths — and a little more than six months to record 900 more.

This list represents a small fraction of that staggering loss. Here you'll find links to stories and obituaries, with more information about each person. 

Take some time to read about the lives of some of the people Manitoba has lost over the past 14 months, and let their stories serve as a reminder of the terrible tragedy that this pandemic has wrought on this province.


Brandon

Dauphin

Dauphin River First Nation

Ida Beardy, 83, was among seven people in the community of Dauphin River First Nation who had died of COVID-19 in the two months leading up to December 2020. (Submitted by Lisa Beardy)
The tiny community of Dauphin River First Nation was devastated last December, after losing seven people to COVID-19 over two months. Pictured from left to right are Lorraine Stagg, Ida Beardy, Stanford Sumner, Walter Anderson. On bottom left are Cheryl Stagg, Edward Stagg, and Christine Sumner who all died from complications due to COVID-19. (Facebook)

Emerson

  • Elsie Goetz: Died on April 25, 2021, at the age of 103.

Fisher River Cree Nation

Jenn Garson Sinclair, 38, was the youngest person to die from COVID-19 in Manitoba at the time of her death on Nov. 16, 2020. (Conrad Garson/Facebook)

Gilbert Plains

Oakbank

Gerald Ziprick, 85, shown here in hospital in early 2020, died at the Kin Place personal care home Dec. 16 after contracting COVID-19. His family says it was hard to know that his symptoms were connected to COVID, since his illness gave him similar physical pain. (Submitted by Nancy Ziprick Baert)

Opaskwayak Cree Nation

Garry Ross was a proud Cree man with a deep connection to his language and the land, his family said. Ross died of COVID-19 on Dec. 2, 2002, at the age of 54. (Submitted by Rhonda Ross)

Ste. Anne

Steinbach

Winnipeg

Hilde and Robert Mock, seen in their wedding photo taken in Einbeck, West Germany, in 1956. Hilde was predeceased by her husband in 2011. (Submitted by Connie and Richard Pope)
Betty Jean Hutchinson, right, celebrated Valentine's Day with her daughter and husband in February 2020, at a time when families could still visit at Maples personal care home in Winnipeg. (Submitted by Jean Giffen)
Christiane Bonin died after contracting COVID-19 during an outbreak at Victoria General Hospital. (Submitted by Lilian Bonin)
Glen Baillie, left, died at the Grace Hospital after getting sick with COVID-19 during the Maples personal care home outbreak. (Submitted by Kevin Baillie)
Shirley Picca, left, with Anniston, one of her three granddaughters. Picca was a cashier at a West Broadway grocery store. The 70-year-old grandmother died after getting COVID-19 and spending weeks on a ventilator in hospital. (Submitted by Shirley Picca's family)
Richard Zimmerman, 66, loved fishing, the great outdoors and listening to CBC radio. He died on Dec. 5, 2020, after contracting COVID-19 at Charleswood Care Centre. (Submitted by Heather Castillo)
William Westervelt, 96, tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 27, 2020, while living at Park Manor care home in Winnipeg. (submitted by Lillian Westervelt)
Curtis 'Shingoose' Jonnie, pictured here performing at a Winnipeg Folk Festival workshop in 2016, was a trailblazing musician from Roseau River Anishinaabe First Nation. (David Quiring/Winnipeg Folk Festival)
Dennis Langrell died of COVID-19 on April 28, 2021. His brother says some people have refused to acknowledge the role the illness played in his death, instead attributing it primarily to underlying health conditions, including diabetes. (Submitted by Doug Langrell)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.