Joan Mills

With her family by her side, our beloved Joan passed away on May 27, 2024, in her Pinawa home.  While we rejoice for her that she is now in the presence of The Lord, she will be dearly missed by her husband Pat, three daughters, Trudy, Kimberley, and Cheryl, her sons-in-law Clayton and Ian, and her eight grandchildren. Joan was predeceased by two of her sisters; Lenore Huckalo and Jeanette Renneberg.

Joan was born in Ontario on May 25, 1948, and moved to a farm in Saskatchewan when she was three years old. She grew up on the farm with nine siblings and attended school and church in Viscount, SK. It was in grade school in Viscount that she first met Pat and they became friends.  After high school, Joan went to Teacher’s College in Saskatoon and began her career teaching in Humbolt, SK. A year later, on July 11, 1970, she married the love of her life, Pat Mills, and they settled down in Pinawa, MB. Joan taught school in Pinawa until choosing to stay home to raise their family. As her three daughters completed grade school, Joan taught as a substitute teacher before accepting a full-time job as the librarian at Whitemouth School. She retired in 2007 when her health began to fail.

Faith, family, and friends were the most important things in Joan’s life. She was deeply loving and compassionate, an excellent listener and trusted confidante, and a valiant prayer warrior. Family was incredibly important to Joan. She cherished the time spent with her children and grandchildren and poured into their lives with hours of reading, playing games, watching sports and fishing, and endless tangible acts of help. Joan was a sports fan who enjoyed watching curling, figure skating, and CFL football, sometimes while enjoying a rum and coke. As her grandchildren grew older, she added hockey and soccer to her repertoire, learning as much as she could about the teams and players so she could carry a conversation and friendly banter with her grandsons. We all enjoyed her sharp wit and sense of humour. 

Joan was a strong woman of faith. She was an active member in her church and, along with Pat, participated in numerous bible studies and prayer groups. She believed in the power of prayer and prayed daily for her family and for many other people who were experiencing difficulties. Despite battling health issues for many years, Joan rarely complained about her health, maintained her sense of humor, and courageously presented herself as if nothing was wrong. While we deeply mourn her passing, we take comfort in knowing that she is no longer suffering, and is at home with her Heavenly Father.

The family wish to express their gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff at the Pinawa Hospital, Cancer Care, Home Care, and Palliative Care, our local pharmacy, and the numerous specialists at the hospitals in Winnipeg for their compassionate care of Joan.

Prayers and Funeral Mass will be held in the Notre Dame du Lac Catholic Church in Lac du Bonnet, with a Catholic Prayer Service at 7 PM on Monday, June 3, and Funeral Mass at 2:30 PM on Tuesday, June 4, with praying of the rosary preceding the service at 2:00 PM. A private family internment will take place in the Pinawa Cemetery at a later date.  The mass can be viewed beginning at ~2:20pm using the following link: https://evt.live/funeral-mass-for-joan-mills.