Obituary of Yolande Marie Zenaide Karwandy

Yolande Marie Zenaide (Legrand) Karwandy passed away quietly and peacefully on February 2, 2026 in the Vermilion Alberta Long Term Care Centre.  She was the heart of our family and leaves behind a legacy of unconditional love that was given freely, consistently, and without reservation to her 9 children, Paul, Christine, Jack, Rose Marie, Timothy, Cecily, Michael, Barbara and Douglas, 19 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.

To try and sum up her life is impossible, but to remember her is easy.

Yolande, the youngest of six children, was born July 19, 1932,  in Qu’Appelle, Sask.  Married in 1951 to her beloved John, they shared a long and loving life until his passing in 2019.  From her family home in Disley, Sask. to the old farmhouse she shared with our Dad when they married, to the married quarters on the RCAF base in Summerside PEI, our Mother weathered every storm. She loved being by the ocean and we have plenty of photos of her with 5 small children in tow walking the red-sand shores of Cavendish Beach.   In 1962, when Dad was transferred to RCAF Station Namao, AB. outside of Edmonton,  the family returned to the West, and our Mother, the quintessential prairie girl, to her roots.  In 1967, the family now complete with 9 children (five boys and four girls), finally settled in Vermilion, AB when her youngest child was 2 and the oldest 15.

Mom could light up a room with her smile and her laugh was infectious.  She loved dancing and singing and all kinds of music could be heard every day in our home, especially soundtracks from all the musicals.  Her kitchen though was her stage where she worked her magic with recipes passed down to her and now passed on to the generations that follow.  From Hungarian cabbage rolls and chili to home-made donuts, cakes and pies, her culinary skills rivalled those of any on the cooking shows of today.

Our mother was a beautiful, strong, principled woman of deep faith who was loved by her family and all who came to know her. She will be deeply missed.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Vermilion Holy Name Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday, February 11,  2026 at 11:00 a.m. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in our Mother’s memory may be made to the Canadian Diabetes Society.

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On her wedding day, June 5, 1951, Yolande received a beautifully framed rendering of a poem written especially for her by her maternal grandmother Angele Demuenynck Longpre.  It’s worth sharing as we believe it encapsules the life she lived to the very end…

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If joy, like sweet bells ringing

Comes, pealing to your heart

Oh, keep  that silver message

Secure, serene, apart

If like a vine that shelters

Your home from sun and rain

Love’s wings surround your dwelling

Within its peace remain

Close fast the door and cherish

Life’s dearest gift on earth

For wealth, nor power, nor beauty

Can ever match its worth

A Funeral Mass will be held on Wednesday, February 11, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. Catholic Parish of the Holy Name, Catholic Church with interment to follow in the Vermilion Catholic Cemetery.

Donations in memory of Yolande may be made to the Canadian Diabetes Assocaition.