Gloria Berens (Samborski) was born in Wakaw, Saskatchewan on September 24 1938. Her mother recalled her birth as a vacation; a week away from the family farm in bustling Cudworth, Saskatchewan. In 1942 Gloria moved to Sudbury with her family as her father landed a job at Creighton Mine. The whole family quickly learned English but were grateful for the welcoming Ukrainian Canadian community and especially having St. Mary’s Ukrainian Church here.
In her final year of high school a teacher at Sheridan Tech took note of her curiosity in the sciences and suggested furthering her studies in nursing instead of the secretarial career she envisioned. Gloria crammed the two years of science credits needed and then graduated from the Marymount School of Nursing in 1959. She taught surgical nursing at the former Sudbury General Hospital and continued her career when her at-home schedule permitted until eventually her passion for caring evolved from nursing in a hospital to nursing five equally curious children. Not for long was one a stranger after encountering Gloria. She could recall the mundane details of a decade-old conversation as easily as she could the exciting bits. Her interest was always genuine, her conversations honest, and her heart as pure as any other. She loved, almost more than anything else, connecting with people that she found interesting, and she always found something interesting in everyone.
Her scientific tendencies led her to record the firsts of each year, along with other noteworthy events on her kitchen calendar; the first robin or friendly chipmunk’s arrival, or the first spring bloom rising from the earth in her backyard - thankfully we have decades worth of her calendars and journals. She loved nature in every form. She admired the winter snow as much as she loved the summer sun.
Gloria is survived by her husband of nearly 61 years - Vladimir. She is predeceased by her parents Nicholas (1972) and Jennie Samborski (2013) and her brother Peter Samborski (2018). She leaves behind her siblings Morris Samborski (Claire) and Annie (Philip Dalle Vedove 2014) along with numerous nieces, nephews and cousins across Canada as well as brother-in-law Ulrich Behrens and Verena Gaus in Germany. She leaves her children, Monika (Colin Firth), Katherine (Kyle Tucker), Carla (Scott Mills), Rainer and David (Nathalie) and special daughter-in-law Noreen McChesney. She leaves her beloved grandchildren Alexandra (Matt), Kallie (Jeff) and Zachary (Augusta); Elliot; Carter and Carson; Hannah (Brek); Alexie and Sophie.
Gloria passed away on May 19th, 2023 unexpectedly and quickly after all her children laughed and talked with her long into the evening. We suspect that her strong relationship and belief in God with a hefty dose of Ukrainian stubbornness helped her leave this world for the next on her own terms - she didn’t want to give her family any extra work caring for her.
Many thanks to the nurses in ER and on the 4th floor, Dr. Mailloux, and Linda Lea who was a blessing.
We’ll miss checking in with her. We’ll miss telling her what’s new and what ought to be new. We’ll miss noodles-stuck-together, ham stacks and Swiss steak. We’ll miss the ‘oh wows’, the ‘isn’t that somethings’ and the ‘good griefs’. We’ll miss her warm smile and her endlessly endearing words of comfort. We’ll miss her ever-evolving recycled toy collection for her grandchildren. We’ll miss her smile, her beautiful blue eyes and how she always made us feel so welcome and loved every time we went home.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Lougheed Funeral Home. At Gloria’s insistence there will be no visitation. Funeral Mass at St. Patrick’s Church, 39 Walford Rd. on Saturday June 24, 10:30 AM. Fr. Pat Woods officiating.
Online donations in Gloria’s memory to Inner City Home, where Gloria volunteered for many years, would be appreciated. www.innercityhome.com
Arrangements entrusted to the Lougheed Funeral Homes