Garry Zamzow

Garry Lynn Zamzow 

The family of Garry Zamzow is sad to announce his last ride off into the sunset. He passed peacefully in Winnipeg with family at his side on July 31, 2024.  

Garry was born on the family farm in Birch River Manitoba on June 28, 1945, as the third son to August and Alice Zamzow. Although he moved from the farm and into the two-room apartment at the top of Zamzow General Store at a young age, the farm and cowboy life were always close to his heart.  

Following a stint in the navy, that took Garry around the world, he continued to have a love of travel. There was always the potential to find him with cowboy boots on his feet, a cowboy hat on his head, his trusted camera in a motorhome travelling across Canada, a bullet train in China, a beach in Greece or across Snow Lake on Purple Sandy.  

When Garry wasn’t travelling, his roots were in Snow Lake, Manitoba, where he worked for HBMS from 1966-2000. Garry was a dedicated miner who worked his way up from a general labourer to the position of mine foreman. No mine shaft was too deep or open pit too large for Garry to conquer.  

Garry lived a life of Christian faith by embodying the values of compassion and selflessness; he was all heart. His motivation to serve multiple terms as mayor, as a board member on the Norman Regional Health Authority, or to run for a seat in provincial/federal government was his way to give back to his neighbours in Snow Lake. Not only that, if you ever needed a meal, a shirt, a ride, or a hug, Garry was always willing to provide one.  

Garry was a pillar of strength that will be missed by his wife Sylvia; his daughters Tanya (Perry), Samantha (Clatus), and Christina (Ameya); his step-kids whom he loved as his own, Stephanie (Shaun) and Micheal (Katelyn); as well as many grandchildren; Kelsey, Allyssa, Bryson (Diesel), Rylan, Cameron, Astrid, Kylee, Terek, Lakelynn, and Shiva. He was predeceased by his first wife Evelyn, brother Harold, and his in-laws Ken Baskier and Bill and Lila Chudobiak.  

There will be a public round up of memories to celebrate this cowboy's many accomplishments on Sunday, August 25, at Laurie Marsh community hall at 2:00 PM.  

For those that wish to honour Garry's memory with a charitable donation, please consider the Micheal J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, PO Box 5014, Hagerstown, MD 21741.

The Celebration of Life service will be available by zoom. Please contact samantha.zamzow@gmail.com for specific details.