‘I get to do so much’

95-year-old happy to help others in nursing home

Winnipeg Free Press

By Av Kitching

Posted: Monday, Mar. 23, 2026

Emily Kosack walks at Holy Family nursing home every day from 2-3 p.m.

She covers a distance of nearly four kilometres on her daily rounds, a broad smile on her face as she greets residents, staff and visitors.

Although she recently injured a hip, Kosack is still able to stroll swiftly, thanks to her red walking aid, which she playfully refers to as her “boyfriend.”

“It’s the best kind of boyfriend,” she says with a twinkle in her eye, dissolving into giggles she continues ‘”the kind of boyfriend who doesn’t talk back.”

At 95, Kosack has the disposition of a woman half her age.

At times she sounds positively girlish, her voice trilling with joy when she shares stories of her early days as a volunteer. One of her favourite jobs was selling tickets for the numerous fundraisers the nursing home used to hold. 

“We did so much back then,” she says.

“The parties we used to have and the money we used to raise; it was something else. I loved to sell tickets — you name it, I used to sell tickets to it. Even now, if I go to the store, some people, when they see me, they put their hand in their pocket and say, ‘What are you selling?’ .

This year marks her 34th year volunteering at Holy Family; she started in 1992, when visiting her late mother Margaret, who was a resident at the nursing home.

“I used to look after her and feed her. I figured as I was feeding my mother, I would also feed some of the other residents,” she explains. “It just came naturally to me, it was no problem. I just enjoy doing things for people.”

It became a regular activity and, before long, she was helping out with other tasks.

“I think I did everything here. I started with adult daycare. Whoever needed to go anywhere, they would ask me and I would do it,” she says. “Back then we used to take people by taxi to the hospitals, I would volunteer to take them, sit with them and bring them back.”

“It makes me feel good to be able to help people, to see the smile on their faces. Coming to live at Holy Family is the best move I ever made in my life. They let me get involved here, I get to do so much. I feel happy; it is a blessing for me to be here.”

The children of the people Kosack has spent time with frequently send cards and letters thanking her for the tender care she shows their parents.

After her mother died, Kosack moved into the facility which, at the time, was open to those aged 55-plus.

But even before she moved in, Kosack was there daily. She missed a couple of weeks only when away on vacation.

Her desire to be of help can be traced back to a childhood growing up on a farm, where everyone in the family had to pitch in.

“It’s just something I grew up doing,” she says. “It’s got to be in you to do it. I don’t know how else to say it. It just is in me to do it.”

Keeping busy is important and essential for her; she can’t abide the thought of sitting in her room “doing nothing.”

Not even the COVID-19 pandemic could stop her from offering her time.

“You have to be busy, you have to do something, so I was delivering food to people in the building because nobody could come to the dining room to eat,” she says.

“So I would pick up the food from the lobby and take it to the rooms.”

Kosack says she is not able to do as much as she’d like to.

“I can’t do too much because I’ve hurt my hip, but I still try to help. It bothers me but I do what I can do. I can still feed people, I can still help with bingo,” she says, referring to the daily games organized by the women’s auxiliary. She’s a member of that group.

A regular social butterfly, Kosack rarely turns down the chance to attend gatherings at the home.

Last Christmas she went to 13 different parties at Holy Family, singing with other residents. She says she’s looking forward to singing again this Easter.

She’ll also be busy whipping up cinnamon rolls, cakes and cookies for the home’s bake sale on May 7.

Kosack says she’s determined to volunteer as long as she is physically able.

“It makes me feel good to be able to help people, to see the smile on their faces. Coming to live at Holy Family is the best move I ever made in my life. They let me get involved here, I get to do so much. I feel happy; it is a blessing for me to be here.”