Annie Liza Wiley was born on June 12, 2010, at Boundary Trails Hospital to Doris Wiley. At the age of one Annie came to live with her dad, John Nepinak, and her brother, John Wiley, in Morden, Manitoba.
Annie had a big smile and a big imagination. She loved to play house under the kitchen table, which she made daddy help decorate. The sheet over the kitchen table was there for extended periods as she played under it, claiming she had her own house. Dad knows this because he went there and had tea and pancakes!
John Sr. tells the story of when the day came for Annie’s highchair to be given away. John had pulled it to the curb for pickup and half an hour later he found Annie pulling it back. He told her that she was too big for it and that it needed to go. Not long later he found her packing her diaper bag in her room. He asked her, “Where are you going?” Her four-year-old self told him, “I’m going with my chair!” Around that time Annie and her dad and John began attending Morden Mennonite Church. She loved to attend Sunday school and participate in kid’s club and Christmas pageants. In time she met Patricia and Curtis and Ella and they offered her extended family love, becoming Auntie Patricia and Uncle Curtis. Ella was like a younger cousin/sister to Annie, and they had many happy adventures.
There were other special families in her life, including Phyllis and Marty, Andrea and Jay and Hannah, Tracy and John, and Angel, Jake, and Makayla. In each of these homes she felt loved and accepted and cared for. The Covid pandemic was a difficult time for Annie. She keenly felt the separation from school and friends, and she struggled to maintain her mental health. There were many people who came alongside to support her, from friends and their parents, church family, teachers, counsellors, social workers, and health care providers. These helpers were appreciated by her
and her families.
Annie was excited to be back at the high school this fall. She loved to be with her friends, doing all kinds of shenanigans. She had connected at YFC Morden. Living with Angel and Jake and Makayla she felt she was truly part of the family. After two years of wearing braces, she was overjoyed to get them removed and to get new jeans on a recent trip to Winnipeg with Auntie Patricia.
It seemed like things were going well for her, but sometimes there are internal struggles that cannot be seen on the outside. Annie faced an inner battle she was not able to overcome and it proved too great even for her courageous cheerfulness. Annie took her own life on September 28, 2025. She did not know the immense grief this would cause her family and friends, but we can trust that she is no longer in anguish and she is truly at peace in God’s loving arms. Her dad says she is smiling!
Annie’s family and friends will cherish memories of her bright smile and easy laughter, and her kindness and compassion for others. She is lovingly remembered by her dad, John Nepinak, her brother, John Wiley, her mother Doris and extended family, her Auntie Patricia, Uncle Curtis, and Ella, her foster family Angel, Jake, and Makayla, her other foster families, her community of supports, and her cherished friends.
John Nepinak, Annie’s dad, would like to say a special thank you to everyone who has been there for him and for Annie and John Jr., and especially Patricia and Curtis for being Annie’s extra parents. If you would like to honour Annie’s memory, donations can be made to Recovery of Hope in Annie’s name to help fund counselling for other young people in need of support for their mental health and wellbeing.
Annie had a big smile and a big imagination. She loved to play house under the kitchen table, which she made daddy help decorate. The sheet over the kitchen table was there for extended periods as she played under it, claiming she had her own house. Dad knows this because he went there and had tea and pancakes!
John Sr. tells the story of when the day came for Annie’s highchair to be given away. John had pulled it to the curb for pickup and half an hour later he found Annie pulling it back. He told her that she was too big for it and that it needed to go. Not long later he found her packing her diaper bag in her room. He asked her, “Where are you going?” Her four-year-old self told him, “I’m going with my chair!” Around that time Annie and her dad and John began attending Morden Mennonite Church. She loved to attend Sunday school and participate in kid’s club and Christmas pageants. In time she met Patricia and Curtis and Ella and they offered her extended family love, becoming Auntie Patricia and Uncle Curtis. Ella was like a younger cousin/sister to Annie, and they had many happy adventures.
There were other special families in her life, including Phyllis and Marty, Andrea and Jay and Hannah, Tracy and John, and Angel, Jake, and Makayla. In each of these homes she felt loved and accepted and cared for. The Covid pandemic was a difficult time for Annie. She keenly felt the separation from school and friends, and she struggled to maintain her mental health. There were many people who came alongside to support her, from friends and their parents, church family, teachers, counsellors, social workers, and health care providers. These helpers were appreciated by her
and her families.
Annie was excited to be back at the high school this fall. She loved to be with her friends, doing all kinds of shenanigans. She had connected at YFC Morden. Living with Angel and Jake and Makayla she felt she was truly part of the family. After two years of wearing braces, she was overjoyed to get them removed and to get new jeans on a recent trip to Winnipeg with Auntie Patricia.
It seemed like things were going well for her, but sometimes there are internal struggles that cannot be seen on the outside. Annie faced an inner battle she was not able to overcome and it proved too great even for her courageous cheerfulness. Annie took her own life on September 28, 2025. She did not know the immense grief this would cause her family and friends, but we can trust that she is no longer in anguish and she is truly at peace in God’s loving arms. Her dad says she is smiling!
Annie’s family and friends will cherish memories of her bright smile and easy laughter, and her kindness and compassion for others. She is lovingly remembered by her dad, John Nepinak, her brother, John Wiley, her mother Doris and extended family, her Auntie Patricia, Uncle Curtis, and Ella, her foster family Angel, Jake, and Makayla, her other foster families, her community of supports, and her cherished friends.
John Nepinak, Annie’s dad, would like to say a special thank you to everyone who has been there for him and for Annie and John Jr., and especially Patricia and Curtis for being Annie’s extra parents. If you would like to honour Annie’s memory, donations can be made to Recovery of Hope in Annie’s name to help fund counselling for other young people in need of support for their mental health and wellbeing.