Obituary of Mike Spilchen

SPILCHEN - Mr. Mike Spilchen, beloved husband of Pauline Spilchen of Yorkton passed away on Thursday February 26, 2009 at the Pasqua Hospital in Regina. He was 81 years of age. Mike was born at the Yorkton Hospital on December 18, 1927. He grew up on the family farm in the Whitesand District and received his education at the Whitesand School. At age 16, his first job was working for the City of Yorkton. At age 18, he took a train to Fort William, Ontario and got a job working in bush camps for the winter and returned home in the spring to work on the family farm. Not only did he farm all his life till his retirement, he also worked at other jobs while farming. He owned three gravel trucks of which his first was a brand new 1948 Rio. He hauled gravel in the summer and pulp for the lumber camps in the winter. Later he purchased a Cat and pushed bush in the summer and opened roads for the municipality in the winter. Mike worked for several different contractors such as Schindel's, Kirsh & Wilson (the year the #16 highway was rebuilt), Fedorowich Construction and the Dept. of Highways. He was a jack of all trades and could operate any piece of equipment. He retired from the trucking business after working 32 years, then spent two years grading roads for the RM of Orkney. After many years of working long-hour days, he finally decided to quit working out and just stay home and farm. Not only did he grain farm but he also had cattle, a pair of mules and he loved horses of which he had many good heavy horse teams for working the fields, chores and the odd one for riding. It was while Mike was living in Orcadia and looking after his Dad's farm that he met Pauline Beblow, whom he later married on October 14, 1951. A reception was held on both family farms. Mike and Pauline had always farmed in the Orkney district where they raised their family of three girls. It was in the year 2000 that they sold their farm and moved to Yorkton. Throughout his life he enjoyed playing many musical instruments but his favorites were the guitar, violin and dulcimer. Often times on a weekend the families gathered bringing their instruments for an evening of socializing, song and dance. Those were the good old days. He also enjoyed going fishing year round, hunting, trapping, playing hockey, curling, bowling, darts, but his favorite was horseshoes. He belonged to the Yorkton Horseshoe Club and because of the beautiful shoe he could throw, it earned him numerous expense paid trips from coast to coast to play in the Canadian Horseshoe Championships as well as a trip to the US to play in a World Championship. But the highlight of this sport was when both he and Pauline won the Canadian Championships in Victoria, B.C. That evening was topped off by a family supper with a decorated cake which said: Granny & Gramps the Horseshoe Champs, at the home of his grandson Michael. He also enjoyed snowmobiling and annually road in Timmy's Snowarama in Yorkton (an event he believed was for a good cause), eventually earning the title for numerous years as the oldest driver in the event. Because he worked hard, he spent as much time as he could with his children. It was after Mike retired and was farming only, that together we had the time to travel and enjoy our children, seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. We traveled to Victoria, Rhein and Ituna. On weekends we enjoyed camping with our children and their families, at various lakes in the area. Mike was predeceased by his parents Nick and Pearl (nee: Stefanyshen); brothers Steve and Peter; step-brothers Metro, Fred, John and Bill; step-sisters Mary Chorneyko, Pauline Kowalyk and Annie Multon and a great-grandson D.J. Ismond. He leaves to mourn his passing and cherish his memory, his loving wife Pauline of Yorkton; his daughter Doreen LeVecque, her son Michael (Jennifer) LeVecque and their children Joel and Mathew all of Victoria; his daughter Adeline (Barry) Herman their daughters Susan (Roger) Geres, Michelle (Kelly) Hubic and their children Bailey and Colton, and their son Calvin (Jacqueline) Herman and their children Haydn, Emery and Kingsley all of Rhein; and his daughter Arlene (Gerald) Muzyka of Yorkton and their daughters Angela Muzyka of Saskatoon, Mandy (Kerry) Sawchuk and their daughters Kaylee and Teagan of Red Deer, and Renee (Danny) Ismond and their son Dylan of Yorkton; his twin sister Madeline Yaremko of Yorkton, his brothers George of Springside, Henry and Paul of Orcadia, a step-sister Katie Skwarchuk of Moose Jaw and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins as well as many other relatives and friends. Prayers were held on Monday, March 2nd at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church, Yorkton with Very Rev. Peter Pidskalny, C.Ss.R. officiating. Requiem Divine Liturgy was held on Tuesday, March 3rd at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church with Rev. Father Methodius Kushko, C.Ss.R. as the Celebrant. The responses were led by Ed Pindus, Colette Karapita & parish choir members. The crossbearer was Brian Spilchen and the epistle reader was Leonard Beblow. All Those Who Shared in Mike's Life were considered honourary bearers. The interment followed in the Garden of Gethsemane at Yorkton Memorial Gardens with Michael LeVecque, Calvin Herman, Kelly Hubic, Roger Geres, Kerry Sawchuk and Danny Ismond serving as the casket bearers. Reflections of Mike's Life were shared by Angela Muzyka. Funeral arrangements were in care of Bailey's Funeral Home. Service Information Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009, St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church Interment Details Yorkton Memorial Gardens