Legacy Giving: Moyna Krusell – A Love Story
For over 22 years, Moyna Krusell was a smiling presence at the YWCA Health + Fitness Centre. She worked out regularly to maintain her health and mobility, even as health issues increasingly impacted and eventually ended her life in March 2023.
But this is a love story. Together for 50 years, Rick Bennett cherished his wife and began joining Moyna at the Fitness Centre to support her as it became increasingly difficult to keep up her beloved routine. To help, YWCA personal trainers Johanna Ward and Josh Clark crafted gentle pool and gym workouts that allowed Moyna to exercise comfortably. Johanna and Josh visited Moyna in the hospital during her final days, sharing that, “Moyna meant a lot to many of us. Even now, her smile and warmth are missed.”
Rick and Moyna had a rich social life and their friends describe Moyna as clever and kind with a wonderful laugh and keen sense of humour. When they gather in the months since Moyna’s passing, together they remember Moyna’s intelligence, her lifelong passion for politics and global issues, and her generosity to her community.
This inspired Rick to continue advocating for the issues that were important to her, as a way to keep her memory alive and to honour the impact she had on her friends and family.
With that in mind, Rick donated $100,000 to the YWCA to create the Moyna Krusell Memorial Endowment. The annual proceeds from this generous endowment will help maintain accessibility to the YWCA Health + Fitness Centre for individuals with disabilities and other barriers. Moyna especially appreciated the accessible changing rooms, the aquatic wheelchair and mobility lift to access the pool, the specialized training of staff to assist with her needs, the subsidized memberships for people with financial or disability barriers and most of all, the welcoming atmosphere. Johanna often reflects on her close relationship with Moyna. “It’s fitting that her memory will live on in this generous, compassionate and spirited way,” she said.
Rick has been touched by those wanting to help keep Moyna’s memory alive. “Let me encourage you to expand the impact of Moyna’s legacy by donating to her endowment in her memory. In doing so, you are helping so many others who otherwise are invisible.”
To learn more about Legacy Giving or how to leave an endowment in your will, contact JoAnne Fahr at jfahr@ywcavan.org |604 895 5829 or Shantal Cashman at scashman@ywcavan.org | 604 895 5859.
