It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Catherine (Kay) Bierko on May 12, 2022, just shy of her 87th birthday. After defeating cancer, and fighting hard through heart and kidney disease, Kay passed peacefully with her family by her side.
Kay, also known to many as Grammie, was pre-deceased by her loving husband of 42 years, Joseph, and her parents, Stella and Joe Dobranski. She will forever be in the hearts of her daughters, Donna (Hans Rooyakkers) and Jodie (Jeff Baker) and her grandchildren Sydnie, Tyler, Nicholas and Emma. She also leaves behind her brother Joseph (Madeleine) Dobranski as well as her niece Claudia (Marc), and nephew Stefan as well as many great and great-great nieces, nephews and cousins.
Kay was born in Glace Bay Nova Scotia and grew up surrounded by her many friends and family. Her family moved to Montreal which is where she met and later married her soulmate, Joe. Together they started a family and moved to Ottawa in the 1970s. Kay had a long and successful career as a real estate agent with Royal LePage.
Kay was an active volunteer with Skate Canada. Recognized for her commitment and willingness to help, Kay was always sought out to help out at competitions – Provincial, National, Worlds and many International levels. For more than 20 years Kay chaired the Spring Festival Skate Competition at the Gloucester Skating Club. She was always doing whatever was needed to be done, by going above and beyond what was expected. She was most proud when she was asked to Chair the 1996 Royal Bank Canadian Championships when they were held in Ottawa.
Friends were always very important to Kay and she enjoyed entertaining them at her home. A very special group of friends in her life were her Beta Sigma Phi sorority sisters that lovingly called her Cathy. She remained very close to them until the end.
Kay loved to travel and visited most of the provinces in Canada. She also enjoyed some international travel – getting to ride the chair lift up the Alps in Switzerland, going on a safari in Africa and having high tea in England. But her favorite trip took place at the end of each year when she would travel to Deerfield Beach, Florida at Christmas. She loved walking on the beach, sitting by the pool with a good book and sitting under the tiki hut with family enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day.
Kay had many hobbies – reading, knitting, gardening and collecting lighthouses to name but a few. But her favorite hobby was being a cheerleader. Kay could always be found at skating competitions, hockey games, soccer games and bowling tournaments cheering on her beloved grandchildren. She was the proudest grandmother at each of the events and loved to celebrate their successes.
Her love of cardinals was well-known, and now when one is near people know that she is with them in spirit.
The family would like to send a heartfelt thank you to her nephrology team, the home dialysis unit at the Riverside Campus and the dialysis team at The General Campus.
A Celebration of Life will take place on Monday, May 23, 2022, at 1 p.m. in the Sacred Space at Beechwood Cemetery. The family will be receiving friends and family starting at 11 a.m.
In memoriam, donations may be made to the Canadian Kidney Foundation, The Canadian Cancer Society, or CHEO.
“Wherever a beautiful soul has been, there is a trail of beautiful memories.”