Obituary of Morris Bodnarchuk

With much sadness and heavy hearts, we said goodbye to our father, grandfather and gido, Morris Bodnarchuk. Dad passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 4th, 2020 at the age of 90. Dad was blessed with a long and healthy life. He still lived in his own house until this past October when his health necessitated a move to Good Shepherd Villas. Dad was born to Steven and Anastasia Bodnarchuk on September 8th, 1929 in their home on the family farm in Meacham, SK. It was there that dad’s love and respect for nature and his passion for farming grew. At the age of 21, dad met mom, Sandra Kapacila at a dance, and the two quickly fell in love. They were soon married on May 25th, 1952, less than a year after first meeting. They started their married life on the family farm in Meacham and soon began their own family with the birth of their first son, Terry in 1954. Five days short of a year later, Bob arrived in 1955. And they welcomed their third son, Ron in 1956. In 1959 dad ventured out and bought a farm of his own and moved the family to Birch Hills. A long-awaited daughter, Patty was born in 1966. Mom and dad’s hard work and perseverance built a successful farm and comfortable lifestyle for their family. They semi-retired in 1979 when dad was just 50 and moved into Prince Albert. Dad was a true gentleman. He had an easy-going nature and positive attitude. He was a kind-hearted sensitive soul. Dad had a huge personality accompanied by his constant big smile. He left a memorable impression on many, many people he met, even if it was from just a five-minute encounter, or one of his “short” three- hour chats! Dad lived a full and happy long life doing exactly what he loved to do. He loved farming, and even though he retired early from his own farm, he wanted and needed to be in the field. So he went to work with his friend Dale Balicki on his farm for another 29 years—right until he was 86! He loved to make music on his violin playing for many dances and other functions over the years as well as many care homes regularly right up until a year ago. He loved listening to old-time music, especially the Saturday night “barn dance” on the radio. He loved to sing with his beautiful bass voice. And he loved to dance. He loved to hunt with his buddies and later with his sons and then grandsons. He loved his Orthodox faith and his church. He loved singing in the church and Vaselka choirs. He loved his Raiders hockey team and still attended their last game this season as a loyal season ticket holder. He loved to socialize and took every opportunity to be amongst people. He went out for coffee every day, attended many community events, and would even help at the church perogy bees! He was happiest being with others. He loved to talk, laugh, visit and joke. He loved to make people happy. He loved nature and all of God’s creations—the sunrises, the sunsets, the blue skies, the clouds, the gentle rains, the plants, the trees, the birds, and the animals. And he especially loved spending time at their cabin at Emma Lake. Most of all he loved his wife of 60 years, Sandra. And they loved their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, or as dad affectionately called them, “his little chickens!” He loved all of his family near and far. Dad just LOVED life and LIVED every minute of his 90 and a half years. We should all be so lucky to live a life as he did. Morris is survived by his three sons: Terry (Loreen), Bob (JoAnne), and Ron (Pat), and one daughter: Patty (Bill) Darchuk; seven grandchildren: Tim, Amy, Adam (Brittney), Brett (Jenn), Danielle (Erik) Burden, Michael (Tabetha), and Cheryl (Owen) Clayton; and twelve great-grandchildren: Ethan, Kaleb, Piper, Zander, Parker, Rylan, Londyn, Blayke, Lachlan, Nixon, Abigail, and Madison. Dad is also survived by one sister, Emily Cross of Whitby, ON; two sisters-in-law, Mary Bodnarchuk of Toronto, ON and Irene Kindrachuk of Wakaw, SK. His brother-in-law, Eugene (Doreen) Kapacila; a special nephew, Ivan Chrusch of Winnipeg, MB, and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives. Thank you to dad’s next-door neighbours of 40+ years, Wayne and Linda Soles for always being there for dad in every way, watching out for him, and most of all for being his friends. And thank you to Vera Stratychuk for being mom and dad’s best friend in the later years. Thank you to Dr. Alanna Surkan, Dr. Priya Sriram, the staff at Good Shepherd Villas and Home Care. Dad, you were the patriarch of our family. We will miss your big smile, your sense of humour, your stories, but most of all your love and support. You will live on through all of us. We will love you forever and always. Until we meet again, Vichnaya Pamyat (eternal memory)! A private family service was held, to view Morris’ funeral please visit the link below. Memorial donations in honor of Morris may be directed to Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Church 3 Attree Bay, Prince Albert, SK S6X 1C2. Family and friends wishing to send online condolences are welcome to visit www.beaulacfuneralhome.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Beau “Lac” Funeral Home, Lorne Adams, Funeral Director, Prince Albert, SK 306-763-3322. https://youtu.be/wrTcKYcWgwI