Winifred Kathleen LASOVICH

LASOVICH, Winifred (Fred) Kathleen Passed away peacefully at home November 6, 2011, at age 45. Gone in a heartbeat, she leaves behind a huge circle of family and friends who adored her. Born in Port Colborne, Ontario, the youngest daughter of Steve and Isabel (Clinton), she will be sadly missed by her brothers and sisters James, Mary, Jane (Roger), Nora, Bill, Sally (Roy) and Patty Ross, and nephews and nieces Paul, Kyle, Zain, Carter, Sarah and Lindsay. Employed as a server at the Empress Hotel since May 1990, Fred served at banquets for royalty and at high school graduations with equal warmth and impeccable courtesy. She treated everyone she met with dignity, never caring about how someone might look from the outside or what they might have or lack. She'd be the first to say she was no saint, but she'd get quite an argument from those of us who know better. Fred lived the golden rule of treating others as you would want to be treated yourself. She was also an accomplished pianist who played every genre at her baby grand, classical to country, Joni to the Beatles. She loved concerts, none better than Elton John's performance in Victoria last winter, where she was enraptured from the first note, her eyes sparkling behind oversized glasses, her Yellow Brick Road LP waving overhead. That capacity for sheer joy drew people to Fred, along with her boundless generosity to anyone in need. She was unfailing in her kindness and showed every day what it can mean to live and love with an unusually enlarged heart. Cremation has taken place and Fred's ashes will be scattered at places on Vancouver Island that were special to her. In lieu of flowers, you are encouraged to undertake your own act of kindness and generosity in her honour. A public celebration of Fred's life will take place November 26 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Crystal ballroom of the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria. 642759