William "Bill" Fedorchuk

It is with deep sorrow and loving respect that we, his family, announce that our kind, gentle and loving soul, William “Bill” Fedorchuk fell asleep in the Lord at the age of 81 years on July 24, 2015.

Bill was born on December 24, 1933 on the family farm in Whitebeech, SK in the RM of Livingstone to Peter and Bessie “Burtnack” Fedorchuk.

Bill attended Border Road School and at only sixteen years of age went looking for work. He traveled to Regina, SK, Saskatoon, SK and Winnipeg, MB, before finally settling in Port Arthur, ON (now known as Thunder Bay) in 1950.  He was employed by Tom Hill, a wood contractor, and then worked for Abatibi Pulp & Paper Company and Brampton Pulp & Paper Company. Bill worked as a CAT operator, made ice roads and worked with the cut and skid crews. After some time had passed Bill moved back home and worked for his brother-in-law Mike Stadnick, who had a pulp contract and saw mill operation (Stadnick Logging).  Bill was a sawyer for 10 years. He was a Foreman for the White Fish and Small Fish Camps and was in charge of the store and payroll.

Bill met his future wife, Rose Caruk, at a dance at the McVey School.  They married on September 7, 1957 in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Whitebeech, SK.  They were blessed with three children, Dale, Arnie and Connie. Bill and Rose have celebrated 57 years of marriage and enjoyed many precious years with their children and their families. Bill was a devoted husband, a wonderful father, a proud Gido (grandfather) and a kind, thoughtful uncle, brother and friend. He was proud of his family and their accomplishments.  He always said he was a wealthy man in that his riches were the blessing of his family.

In 1962 Bill and Rose bought a farm in the Big Woody District and enjoyed 50 years of mixed farming with  grain, cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys and anything else that their children and grandchildren liked to have as pets. He also owned and operated Bill Fedorchuk Ready Mix Concrete and enjoyed the challenge of pouring garage pads, machine shop and grain bin floors for his many neighbors and customers.

Bill always liked to be involved in district activities, especially picnics.  He volunteered his help at the food booth or joining in with the neighbors for a good game of baseball.  He was an excellent pitcher!  Bill dressed up as  Santa Claus at many school concerts.  He coached the Big Woody Beavers girls’ hockey team and the Bowsman Burners mens’ hockey team.

As a Lions Club Member, Lion Bill loved selling tickets for the Billy Beal Fishing Derby, and Bull-O-Rama. He would often bargain to share half the cost of the ticket just to sell more tickets. He also collected batteries and sold pumpkins for this wonderful cause.

Bill’s devotion to his family, his strong values and his faith supported him throughout his life.  He was a very active member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Holy Ascension in Swan River.  He served as the Parish President and President of the Northern District Parish (Flin Flon, The Pas, Pine River, Drifting River, Garland, Venlaw & Swan River) for a combined 23 years.  For his service he received a Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada Metropolitan’s Honor (Hramota).

Bill really enjoyed coordinating church projects and was a member of various committees such as the church icon screen and chandelier projects, organizing carolling groups, organizing annual church picnics, scheduling workers for the food booth at the Swan Valley Rodeo and organizing the pictorial directory project that included all of the members of the Northern District parishes.

Bill loved his wife and children dearly; keeping them happy and safe was his goal.  He created precious memories with Dale – his golfing partner, Arnie - his hunting partner, and had a very cherished father – daughter relationship with Connie. His daughters-in-law Jacquie and Anika were very special to him. His grandchildren, Brittany, Nicholas, Micayla and Nadia were most precious.  He always enjoyed every visit they had together. He did many things for the enjoyment of his grandchildren, such as building the annual sliding hill on the family farm in the winter or making a rink on the dugout. He organized horse and sleigh rides, built a tree house and a bonfire wiener roast was always mandatory when the family visited in the summertime. 

Bill enjoyed family gatherings, which gave him yet another opportunity to organize an event.  Each year all of his children, his brother and sisters, nieces and nephews and their families would gather at the Big Woody Hall for two days of family fun. The main goal was to make sure the children had the best time of their lives either riding on the Lions Club Train or playing games. He would also cook, enticing people to eat his homemade chicken soup on the hottest day of the year (it really was excellent).  He raised small animals to make a petting zoo at the picnic so the kids would have fun and create memories together. His nieces and nephews were precious to him. The annual picnic was an opportunity to share small traditions with each of them, such as exchanging chocolate bars and special beverages, or singing or having a good laugh.  He had a wonderful sense of humour, which touched many people throughout his life. Bill always played horseshoes at the Family Picnic and almost always pitched during what was a surprisingly competitive baseball game.

Bill enjoyed many sports. He played baseball and he and Rose were staunch Toronto Blue Jays fans.  He loved to watch his sons and grandson play hockey. One of his favourite hobbies was to play horseshoes. He had occasion to enter a horseshoe tournament at the Swan Valley Rodeo, but played most often at family gatherings at home, at Big Woody Hall and Whitefish Lake. Often while living on the farm you could hear the ringing of horseshoes early in the morning or late at night after the daily chores were completed. The horseshoes followed him to Brandon, where he built horseshoe pits with his new friends at the Leisure Centre and played a few games. He liked playing Bocce ball with his children and grandchildren.  Bill also enjoyed golfing with all of his family. Although he took up golf later in life, he was an enthusiastic golfer and created some great memories with his joyful approach to the game.

Bill and Rose really valued time with family and friends.  They would quickly finish what they were doing, whether it was field work, gardening or chores, to pack a lunch and go to the river or Whitefish Lake for a picnic and swim.  They also enjoyed playing cards with many neighbors, family and friends over the years and shared great times together.

Bill was most passionate about hunting – especially moose; 55 of them made it to his freezer. He enjoyed many precious years of hunting with his sons Arnie and Dale, grandson Nicholas, dear friend Daryll Fehr, brother-in-laws Pete Perrick, John Caruk and son-in-law Blake and numerous family and friends in the community.  The boys made sure to make all of their hunts the best time of the year.  Arnie would not let any obstacle stand in the way of the hunt; not even a wheelchair in the fall of 2014 during Bill and Arnie’s last hunt together. Bill wrote a journal of all of his hunting stories and life experiences dating back to 1945, which will be typewritten for his family to enjoy.

Following a tragic barn fire in June of 1998, Bill and Rose scaled down the farming business.  Although their livelihood was lost they knew God had a plan and faith was what they embraced.  They sold the family farm in January of 2011.  They moved to Brandon, MB to be closer to their children.  In Brandon they met many nice people and shared good times at the local Leisure Centre. Their new friends were a great support group when Bill took ill in August 2012.  Bill took up residence in Valleyview Care Centre in September 2014, where he resided until he was called Home to the Lord.

Treasuring Bill’s everlasting memory are his loving wife Rose and best friend of 57 years, and their children and grandchildren:  son Dale (Anika) Fedorchuk of Canmore, AB; son Arnie (Jacquie) Fedorchuk and their children Brittany (Colan Jackson) and Nicholas of Winnipeg, MB; daughter Connie (Blake) Krahn and their children Micayla and Nadia of Brandon, MB.  He is also loved and will be missed by his family:  sisters Emily Stadnick of Swan River; Jane Perrick of Winnipeg; Evelyn Pilat of Whitebeech, SK; Marianne (Sandy) Miller of Toronto, ON, Vickie (Jerry) Dominato of Swan River, brothers John (Cecile) Fedorchuk of Swan River, Mike (Phyllis) Fedorchuk of Whitebeech, SK, Stan (Louise) Fedorchuk of Winnipeg,  Ed Fedorchuk of Whitebeech, SK , Liz Fedorchuk of Swan River,  John (Peggy) Caruk of Minitonas, Gwen (Dave) Sigurdson of Swan River, and Mike (Evelyn) Caruk of Edmonton, AB.  All of his nieces, nephews and their families share our loss.

Bill was predeceased by his parents Bessie (Burtnack) and  Peter Fedorchuk, parents-in-law Anne (Dzikowski) and William Caruk, brothers Nick Fedorchuk, Wally Fedorchuk, sister-in-law Jean Fedorchuk, brothers-in-law Mike Stadnick, Pete Perrick, Tony Pilat, and nephews Peter, Barry and niece Sherri.

We wish to thank Rev. Father Brent Kuzyk for his visits and heartwarming compassionate service and the comfort you provided Bill/Dad at life’s end.  You have been a treasured friend of this family.

Thank you to the doctors, nurses and health care aides of the Brandon Regional Health Centre, Assiniboine Centre and Valleyview Care Centre for your kind, compassionate care you have shown Bill during his stay. 

Thank you to Brockie Donovan Funeral Home and Paull’s Funeral Home in care of the funeral arrangements.

May his memory be Eternal!  Veechniya Pamyat!