Obituary of William Bobyk

Bill was born on October 16, 1927, in the Rokeby District, the eldest child of William Lewis Bobyk and Helen Hovrishko. As a young child he moved with his parents and sisters to a farm in the Eden District where he continued to live for the next 75 years. Growing up, Bill enjoyed farming with his dad, hockey, dances, fiddle music, and teasing his three younger sisters. After his elementary years at Eden School, Bill boarded at St. Joseph's College in Yorkton where he graduated in 1947. After a small taste of city living in Regina, Bill returned to the family's mixed farm where he gladly remained, taking off his last crop in the fall of 2009. Bill met Irene Porter at a New Year's dance, and they courted for several years until marrying in 1957. Together they raised and created a happy home for four children, Donna, William (Bill) Jr., Sandra and Randy. Bill was very present in their lives and reveled in their various accomplishments over the years. He was proudest of all, however, of Irene, the type of wife and mother she was and the reputation she'd earned during her four decades as a nurse. A devoted husband and loving father, Bill was quick to praise and slow to criticize. A very kind and social person, he was also adept at making and keeping lifelong friends. He had an admirable ability to always be accepting and appreciative of others. Bill had a lifelong passion for agriculture, carefully tending his crops, winning prizes for his poultry at Toronto's Royal Winter Fair, participating in the Swine Breeder's Association, enthusiastically attending public information sessions on the latest farming practises, and the like. Bill derived much pleasure from building a strong shelter belt around his farm's yardsite, and made annual trips to gather young spruce trees for planting. Over the years he and Irene received many compliments on their farm's park-like atmosphere. Bill's other abiding interest was politics. He kept close track of the goings-on of the day and regularly analyzed the world's state of affairs with neighbours and friends on coffee row. The loss of Bill, and the void it has created, will be keenly felt by all who knew him, not least of all his grieving family: wife, Irene; children, Donna (Don) Wood of Calgary, Bill (Karen) Bobyk of Calgary, Sandra Bobyk of Regina, and Randy Bobyk of Calgary; grandchildren, Laura Wood of Vancouver, Stephen Wood, Sarah Bobyk and Nicholas Bobyk, all of Calgary; sisters, Mary Kellett, Anne (Ken) Mitchell, and Julie (Ron) Bailey; sister-in-law, Dorothy Schaeffel; as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Service Information Saturday, February 13th, 2010 11:00am, Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre Interment Details Yorkton City Cemetery