Frances (Fran) Hrynkiw
May 19, 1937 - November 24, 2024
Long time Kitimat resident, Frances Hrynkiw, passed away peacefully in Chilliwack, BC on November 24, 2024 at the age of 87. Fran came to Kitimat as a young bride in 1957 and lived there until 2023 when she and Ted downsized and moved to Agassiz.
Frances Teresa Alvina Brockmeyer was born May 19, 1937 in Humboldt SK to Henry Brockmeyer and Mary Messmer Brockmeyer. She was a younger sister for Eddy to whom she was extremely close.
She met Ted Hrynkiw at the Children of Mary Catholic Church Choir. They were engaged in September 1956, and shortly afterward, Ted moved to Kitimat to take a job at the Northern Sentinel Press. He went back to Humboldt and they were married July 4, 1957 after which they returned to Kitimat.
They built a house on Raley Street where they lived for the next 60+ years. Fran and Ted often opened their home to visitors and Fran loved to feed and entertain friends, children of friends, and friends of friends.
Fran worked briefly in the Alcan secretarial pool and then was a stay-at-home mom. In 1971, she took what was supposed to be a temporary job in the Super Valu bakery to earn money to buy the kids an encyclopedia set for Christmas. The 6 weeks turned into 12 weeks and then became permanent until her retirement in 1997, 26 years later.
She quickly became known as “The Cookie Lady” for handing out free cookies to the kids who came to see her in the bakery, but then when she moved to the till as cashier, she embraced her inner happy face and became “The Sticker Lady”, handing out small happy face stickers to children, visitors and anyone who needed a pick-me-up. These stickers became her calling card and she once received a postcard from Nova Scotia simply addressed “Sticker Lady. Kitimat, BC”.
Fran was a faithful member of the Catholic Church and attending mass was her comfort and strength. She sang in various choirs, participated in bazaars and bake sale fundraisers and was on the bereavement committee, serving food after funerals. She recently received a 60-year service pin from the CWL.
Service was second nature to Fran and she found great joy in helping and sharing with others. She populated each coming year’s calendar with birthdays, anniversaries, passings and other events. She also kept a book of who received her annual hot crossed buns – noting their preference for raisins/no raisins, fruit/no fruit, and icing amount. Fran was named Kitimat’s Woman of the Year in 1992.
Music was an important part of Fran’s life. She often sang with her children as they did dishes or chores. Her son, Dave, gave her a ukulele and she enjoyed playing it immensely. She gathered together and taught other ukulele players and formed a group of friends who became known as the “Ukulele Ladies” who performed at the telethon and at the hospital, but mostly they gathered weekly for learning and fun.
Fran was an avid crafter. For many years she created Christmas pins to hand out to family, coworkers and friends and to special customers who came through her till.
Frances is pre-deceased by her parents (Henry and Mary), parents-in-law (Mike and Nettie) and many brothers-in-law and sisters-in law.
She is survived by her husband, Ted; daughter, Donna (Robert Miller) of Langley; daughter, Susan (Jim Turner) of Agassiz; son, Ron (Julie Stevens) of Kitimat; son, Dave (Cheryl Dewar) of Calgary; brother, Ed Brockmeyer (Isabelle Saretsky) of Humboldt, SK; 9 grandchildren and 9 great grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held in Agassiz in May 2025, and a Remembrance Mass will be celebrated at Christ the King Catholic Church in Kitimat on Thursday, February 20th at 1:00 PM. Internment will be in Humboldt, SK near many family members and friends.
To honour Fran, make a donation to the charity of your choice, send flowers to someone who needs their day brightened, take someone to lunch or reconnect with someone you haven’t spoken to in a while.