1998 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother – Anna Zuk

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National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother Anna Zuk.
(Photo: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections)

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(Photo: University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections)

Mrs. Anna Zuk (Prygroski) from Winnipeg, Manitoba, was named the 1998 National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mother. During the national Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa on November 11, 1998, she laid a wreath at the base of the National War Memorial on behalf of all mothers who have lost a child in military service to Canada.

On August 19, 1942, her youngest son, Emil Prygroski was wounded during the ill-fated Dieppe Raid and subsequently succumbed to his injuries at the Montréal Military Hospital in 1950.

Mrs. Zuk was the daughter of John and Catherine Probizanski and the mother of two sons who served overseas. Her eldest, Bernie, was wounded in 1945, shortly before the war’s end, and underwent extensive reconstructive surgery to the facial area. He later moved with his family to Chicago, Illinois.

Mrs. Zuk championed many causes and was a staunch believer in volunteerism. She was also known to debate issues with leading politicians in the Winnipeg area, including the mayor, premier and Foreign Affairs minister.

A former nurse’s aide, Mrs. Zuk was credited with saving two heart attack victims—a man in his forties who collapsed on a city bus when she was 83 and a 92 year-old who had collapsed in in the lobby of their seniors’ apartment building in Winnipeg.

With seven members of her family killed during the war—son, brother, cousin and four nephews, Mrs. Zuk was a poignant representative for Silver Cross Mothers in Manitoba over several years and represented other Silver Cross Mothers at memorial functions, in their absence.

In spite of having undergone 13 operations, including the removal of her kidneys, Mrs. Zuk attributed her long life to being a non-smoker, non-drinker and coming from a family with a rich history of longevity. She died on June 19, 2000.

List of National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mothers

(Information courtesy of the Royal Canadian Legion, Canadian War Museum and families of the National Memorial (Silver) Cross Mothers)