Frank passed away quickly and peacefully on Monday, January 2, 2023 at 10:45 pm after experiencing a brain aneurysm on December 27, 2022.

 

He is predeceased by his wife Janet (Rykyta), life partner, Irene (Cadger), sisters Dorothy and Josephine and his brother Edward and survived by his sisters Frances and Elizabeth (Betty), his children Susan, Bill, Bruce, Thomas (Doris), Michael (Jacqueline) and grandchildren Kai and Katelyn (Kelsey), Courtney (Graham) and Morgan (Mariam), Matthew (Tara), Tyler, Evan (Emiley), MacKenzie, Johnathan and great grandchildren Luca, Emilia and Matteo and his best buddy for the past 15 years Carol-Ann.

 

Frank was born in Winnipeg on September 24, 1933, the second youngest of six siblings to Joseph and Anne Paquette. He lived in Sargent Park and upon graduation from Sargent Park High School started working for the Manitoba Telephone System (MTS) where he met his wife, Janet (Rykyta). Janet and Frank married in 1955, and started their family in 1957 in River Heights.

 

Frank was a member of the Kiewel’s White Seals/Manitoba Clothing Senior A Men’s Fastball Team from 1959-1964. . They had strong competition throughout Northern Ontario, Saskatchewan and North Dakota  and the team was considered to be one of the province’s best from the 1950’s through the mid 1960’s. As the Kiewel’s White Seals they won the Winnipeg Senior A Men’s Fastball League Championships in 1959 and 1964 and again in 1961 and 1962 as the Manitoba Clothing team The team was inducted into the Manitoba Softball Hall of Fame in 2004.

 

Frank and Janet moved to Fort Rouge in 1959 when the family started growing and Frank became involved in the Lord Roberts Community Centre coaching baseball to many of the children in the area.

 

He was a member of the Fort Rouge Curling Club playing on many teams over the years and attended the 1972 Silver Broom as a “Puddle Jumper”when the Meleschuck team represented Canada in Garmisch Partenkirschen, Germany and won the World Championship. The “Puddle Jumper”s toured Germany and Venice, Italy with the team.  Frank was President of the FRCC in 1984-1985.

 

From 1958 to 1974, the Paquette family spent every summer camping at the Big Whiteshell Lake then moved on to Caddy Lake and Black Sturgeon Lake. Frank realized his dream of living in the country at the lake when he and Irene bought a lot and built a cabin in Blueberry Ridge at Grand Marais 32 years ago. He helped all of the neighbours whenever he could: shovelling snow, cutting grass, killing raccoons and other rodents and performing handyman services.

 

Frank touched a lot of people’s lives as a husband and father, fastball player, curling team member, baseball, swimming and curling coach and mentor. He lived a long and healthy life and he will be missed by family, friends, colleagues and people in the communities in which he lived.

 

Funeral will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home: 4000 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3K 1W3. A short interment service will follow at the Assumption Roman Catholic Cemetary graveside followed by a reception at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home

 

As Frank was a Past President, the Fort Rouge Curling Club will be making a charitable donation in his name.  In lieu of flowers, please join the Fort Rouge Curling Club and family members by donating to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.