Leona Darlene McKee

Leona Darlene McKee (nee Murray, Clarke) passed away on July 5, 2020 at the age of 76 years in the Palliative Care Unit of Prairie Mountain Health in Brandon, Manitoba.  She was born October 1, 1943 in Hartney, Manitoba at the Forbes Nursing Home and spent the first two years of her life on the home farm, Town View Farm of Hartney.  After selling the farm, her family lived for a short time in Penticton, British Columbia before settling in Brandon, Manitoba.  Leona graduated from Brandon General Hospital Nursing Program in 1964 and enjoyed a 37 year career in Emergency Nursing and Nursing Administration before retiring to the farm in Brookdale, Manitoba.  She enjoyed golfing in the summer and curling in the winter, travel and photography, canning, pickling and freezing her vegetables and growing her award-winning flower gardens.  Her children grown, she filled her empty nest with her beloved horses, dogs, cats, pond fish and her bird sanctuary.  Traveling was a passion and her love of the sea led her on many trips to the Caribbean, cruises to Alaska and the Mediterranean, a much enjoyed Rhine River cruise, trips to Ireland and New Zealand, and much of the United States and Canada.  In her later years, Leona began to research the genealogy of her family, spanning seven generations of pictures and stories of the Clarke and Greenlay families.  Two very large scrap books are left for future generations to enjoy.  Leona is predeceased by her Mom and Dad, Aunts and Uncles and leaves to remember her husband John, children from her first marriage, Cindy Bender (Craig) and James Murray, sister Sharon Gray (Wayne), sister-in-law Sharon Petch (Ron), nieces, nephews and extended family.  Thank you to her friends in the Nursing profession, her golfing and curling friends, and all who supported her in her final days, including the doctors and nurses with Cancer Care Manitoba in Winnipeg and Brandon, Neepawa, and a special thanks to the team in Palliative Care.  White’s funeral home in charge of arrangements.  At Leona’s request there will be no funeral.  A private family internment will take place after cremation.  Friends who so desire may donate in her memory to Cancer Care Manitoba or the pet rescue of your choice.

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