Obituary of John Kolodziejski

John Kolodziejski, beloved husband of the late Bernice Kolodziejski, passed away in his sleep on August 16, 2018, after spending the whole day with his family at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre. John was born in Zablocie, Poland on December 24, 1923, to Walter and Amelia (Stegienta) Kolodziejski. He was the oldest of four children with sisters Mary (Halyk) and Ann (Bisschop) and brother Henry. Dad came to Canada with his mother and sister Mary in 1929 to join his father near Tuffnell, Sask. They settled on "the Flats" north of Tuffnell and proceeded to earn a living off of a few cattle and crops that would grow amongst the rocks. Dad attended Echo Lake School for 5 years, and thinking at Grade 5 that he was smart enough, he began his very successful farming career that spanned over 80 years. Mary remembers being late for school quite often as they milked 20 cows each morning before school started. John loved sharing stories of how hard life was in those early years. One that comes to mind was the driverless horse that would come into the yard from the field with a load of hay where Mary and John were waiting to unload the hay, and the horse would then return to John's father out in the field where he would load it up again. We truly cannot appreciate how different and difficult life was in those days. As a young man, John and Roman Shurgot went out to BC to work at the pulp mills for the winter. This was a whole new adventure for him; however, farming was his passion so they returned to the farm. John met the love of his life, Bernice Yurkowski, due to the matchmaking skills of Tom and Mary Halyk. John and Bernice were married on November 21, 1950, in Lanigan, Sask. with the wedding and reception following in Tuffnell. Their first home was in Tuffnell, Sask. where Bernice continued teaching up until the birth of their first child, Ron. Soon after, John and Bernice moved to their own farm, with Terry, Bob, and Shelley joining the family. John and Bernice worked very hard to make their farming business a success. They were grain farmers as well as raised livestock, chickens, and horses. John was a lifetime member of the Sask. Wheat Pool. He enjoyed curling in his spare time as well as attending auction sales and fishing with Tom Halyk. He also helped out with the Sheho sports days for many years. John and Bernice were great entertainers; they loved playing cards, and there were many late nights spent trying to figure out who the winner was. John loved to relax with a drink occasionally, and the first thing he would do when people came over was offer them a drink, and "NO" was not an option. In 1976, John became a "grandpa" to Kristy, followed by Kelly, Bryan, Sean, and Leah. In 2006, he became a "great-grandpa" to Kennedy. The children have many memories of grandpa, usually that he was working and, when possible, going to the lake, fishing, ice cream trips, and tractor rides. The girls remember grandpa being a patient and willing participant when they were playing hairdresser, and the boys remember him teaching them to drive different pieces of farm machinery, much to Grandma's chagrin. Every time John saw his grandchildren, he had a big smile on his face; he just loved seeing them. There was always an ice cream treat waiting for them when they came to visit and usually a $20 bill to take on the way out. In 2004, John and Bernice moved to Yorkton, enjoying a quieter life together. However, John continued driving back and forth to the farm during seeding and harvest season for many years. John enjoyed watching game shows in his later years for hours on end. He also thoroughly enjoyed listening to the Saturday Night Get Together on GX94. Throughout his life, his deep devotion and faith in God guided him in all that he did. Even after mobility problems prevented church attendance, daily mass on TV was never missed. John was predeceased by Bernice, his wife of nearly 67 years; his parents Walter & Amelia; his wife's parents Ignace and Mary Yurkowski; his sister Ann, brother Henry, in-laws Tom, Norbert, Joseph, John and Sharon. He leaves to cherish his memory: children Ron (Linda), Terry (Carla), Bob(Patty) and Shelley (Angus); grandchildren Kristy(Michael), Kelly (Andrew), Bryan (Janine), Sean (Bailey), and Leah; great granddaughter Kennedy; his sister Mary Halyk, sister in law Lucy Kolodziejski; brother in law Stan (Joan) and sister in law Vicki (Jim); cousin Ann (Joe) and many nieces, nephews and friends. Prayers were held on Sunday evening, August 19th 2018 from St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church in Yorkton with Mary Bybliw, Lay-presider. Hymns were Amazing Grace, Prayer of St. Francis & Psalm 23. Pianist was Lorraine Lysak. The Funeral Mass was celebrated on Monday morning, August 20th from St. Gerard's Church with Father Louis Kim Nguyen as Celebrant. Lay-readers were Leah Kolodziejski for the prayers, and Patty & Brent Kolodziejski for the funeral. Crossbearer was Joe Bisschop. Gift-bearers were Mary Halyk & Ann Neskar. Hymns were Here I Am Lord, Psalm 40, Precious Lord, Take My Hand, You Are Near, Song of the Angels & How Great Thou Art. Pianist was Diana Hornung. The interment followed in the Garden of Gethsemane at the Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Tom, Don & Mark Halyk, Bryan & Sean Kolodziejski, and Angus Patterson serving as the casketbearers. Condolences can be left at baileysfuneralhome.com Service Information Sunday, August 19th, 2018 7:00pm, St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church Monday, August 20th, 2018 9:30am, St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church Interment Details Yorkton Memorial Gardens