Obituary of LEONARD PATRICK OLEKSUK

LEONARD PATRICK OLEKSUK MARCH 17 1941 – MAY 11, 2014 It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of beloved husband, father & grandfather Leonard Oleksuk. Len is survived by his loving wife of 46 years Gail, daughters Dinnette (Ken) Yaworski, Trena Taylor, Marilynn (Mark) Gozda & Hayley Oleksuk. He will be sadly missed by his grandchildren Kayla, Kiana, Rayne, Michael, Myles & Sophia. He also leaves to mourn his passing his brother Rod (Iris) Oleksuk, sister-in-law Patricia Oleksuk and many nieces and nephews. Len was predeceased by parents Steve & Josephine, brothers Douglas & Nelson and niece Tracy. Len grew up on a farm near Fannystelle, MB where his appreciation of nature began. Dad & mom married in June 1967. Shortly thereafter dad began work at Canada Safeway and retired in 2001 after 33yrs. Len was the original “MacGyver” and “Ukrainian Recycler”. He could often be found fixing something or building something in his garage. If someone needed help, everyone knew they could ask Len because he never said no to anyone. Some of Len’s happiest times were spent at Zodha, MB with his brothers. They spent weekends hunting, playing cribbage and sharing many laughs. Their annual fishing trip was a special time for dad and he looked forward to it each year. Mom always sent dad away with perogies & a gallon of pickled eggs which they all looked forward to. Dad was a true family man and enjoyed taking his family camping. It is there that he taught respect of nature, how to fish & how to waterski. We have many happy memories of spending time around the campfire. He later passed all these skills to his grandchildren who he loved dearly. It gave dad great pleasure to make each one of his grandchildren a fishing tackle box. After retirement, dad was active in Lac du Bonnet as a volunteer & was an avid curler. The neighbors always joked to mom that they could never keep up with dad. Mom and dad played cribbage each day and you always knew when dad found a point because of the huge grin on his face. Dad fished as often as he could and there is a secret spot in Lac du Bonnet called “Len’s Rock” that dad has never disclosed. Funeral will be held at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main Street on Tuesday, May 20th at 11am. We want to thank Lac du Bonnet EMS and RCMP Cst. Amber Patel who showed amazing compassion and support to mom. We are also grateful to the neighbors on Drabyk Road who were there for mom. In lieu of flowers donations in Len’s memory may be made to Siloam Mission.