Obituary of Aloysius Lipoth

Aloysius (Al) was born near Grayson, SK on April 12, 1935 to John and Helen (Kulcsar) Lipoth.  The family lived in a few places before settling down on a farm near Waldron after WWII.  Al’s father had earned money to purchase the farm by welding armor cars in Ontario during the war.  Al attended school in Waldron.  His first language was Hungarian, and he learned English in school.  He had amusing stories arising from the similarity of certain English words the teachers used to mildly rude Hungarian phrases.  As the family’s oldest boy, he completed grade 8 and then stopped school to work on the farm.  Al  enjoyed playing sports including hockey and baseball with the 36 Rangers.  He was also a member of the local 4-H grain club.

In addition to farming, Al followed in his father’s footsteps and became a skilled welder, working on the Gardiner Dam near Outlook.   He was a member of the local militia during the 1960’s.  At one point, Al went to North Battleford and considered becoming a priest.  However, that was not to be.  Al’s sister Bernadette had a roommate – Delores Bergman.  Al and Delores were married on November 11, 1967.  They spent some time living in Regina, and eventually settled on the family farm that Al had grown up on.  Al and Delores had two daughters – Sarah and Becky.

Al was active in church and community life.  He volunteered with Pro-Life, served on the Hospice board in Grayson, and was a 4th degree Knight of Columbus.  He enjoyed curling and bowling, and umpiring ball games.  He was also very interested in politics and helped with various campaigns over the years.  He enjoyed long conversations with neighbors and was always ready to lend a helping hand when anyone was in need, whether that meant welding machinery, pulling a calf in the middle of the night, fighting a fire, or just offering a cup of coffee (or perhaps something a little stronger), a listening ear, and wise counsel. 

Al worked hard on the farm, but family was always a priority.  He would find time to drive Sarah to 4-H meetings and attend Becky’s ball tournaments, even during busy farm seasons.  His siblings (and their spouses) recalled many a late night playing cards with Al and Delores.  His nieces and nephews tell stories of the fun activities that happened on the Lipoth farm, from enjoying home-made root beer to wagon rides and his daughters can attest to his skill in building everything from snow forts to rope hammocks (starting from old twine from the hay bales), even after losing the fingers on his right hand in a combining accident. Al also enjoyed traveling, especially to places with beautiful old trees.  His favorite place to take the family for vacations was Minnesota.

In his later years, Al struggled with dementia, but he always retained his friendly personality and his strong faith in God.  Al entered his eternal rest on Thursday, October 5, 2023 at St. Peter’s Hospital in Melville at the age of 88 years. He will be deeply missed.

Al was predeceased by his parents, John and Helen Lipoth, wife Delores Lipoth, infant brothers James Lipoth and Imre Lipoth, sisters Barbara (Brad) Breit, and Bernadette (John) Hickie, and brothers Joseph (Cecilia) Lipoth and Ralph (Anne) Lipoth.   He is survived by daughters Sarah Lipoth and Becky Lipoth (Meagan Onstad), brother Alphonse (Grace) Lipoth, numerous nieces and nephews and many other friends and family who knew him well.