John Drozd, beloved husband of Olga Drozd of Canora passed away suddenly at his residence on June 7th, 2013, at the age of 80 years. John was born April 9th, 1933, to William (Basilius) and Mary (Lewchuk) Drozd of Gorlitz, SK. He grew up in the Gorlitz district and attended Annak School in the Gorlitz area, where he finished grade nine. At eighteen, he moved to Toronto to work at the Coleman factory. He returned to the Gorlitz area to help his grandfather farm, and there he met Olga Rudnisky. John and Olga were married November 6th, 1954, and lived in Gorlitz for the first year of their marriage. They then moved to Toronto, ON, to pursue employment in lithography and printing. After a year and a half in Toronto, John and Olga returned to Saskatchewan. They lived in Canora and John worked at Saskatchewan Co-op Creamery in Canora, where he drove a delivery route taking him to many surrounding communities. While living in Canora, John and Olga had two children: Darrell, born in 1959, and Karen, born in 1963. In 1965, John moved his family to Gorlitz to work as an agent for the Federal Grain Elevator. In 1966, John purchased a half section of land near Gorlitz and added farming to his work day, while continuing his job as a grain buyer. John raised livestock and grain farmed, and enjoyed working with specialty crops and trying out new equipment and methods of farming. He developed a good relationship with his neighbours and many farmers came to him for advice and help with repairs. In 1971, John and Olga's third child Tamara was born. During these years there were a lot of trips to the cabin at Sunnyside Beach, where John umpired ball games on Sundays and entertained friends and neighbours. Boating, water skiing and fishing were favourite activities during the day, and bonfires with a lot of musical entertainment were often enjoyed at night. While living on the farm, John worked a variety of jobs in the off season, such as custom combining in the United States, driving semis, working for the Department of Highways, and working at Weber's Construction. Unfortunately he suffered from a workplace accident, which eventually led to him to selling off his cattle. However, he continued to farm, and would always find creative ways, even while on crutches, to climb up to the tractor so he could continue his work. John and Olga moved into Canora in 1989, and continued to farm while working in Canora doing drywall and painting. John sold the farm in 1993, which gave him more time for his hobbies: fishing, woodworking and of course, church going. John was proud of the impressive number of churches that he attended. He kept a record and photo album detailing the many congregations that he had been part of, as most Sundays were spent on the road traveling to meet friends old and new and join in with the parishioners. John was very proud to sing in church choirs, and he did so in numerous churches. His latest church trip was in April to Lethbridge, AB, where he also attended his grandson's graduation ceremony. John's dedication to the Ukrainian Orthodox faith led to him doing maintenance for the Ukrainian Orthodox Senior Citizen's rental units, working determinedly to restore the Ukrainian Orthodox Heritage Church in Canora, and on maintenance at the Crystal Lake Church Camp. John also worked tirelessly to preserve the church in Gorlitz, and spent a lot of time doing maintenance, both inside and out. He even repainted the domes on both the heritage church in Canora and the church in Gorlitz. At home, John loved to spend time in his workshop polishing and restoring brass pieces for the church, and doing beautiful woodwork. John's other interest was playing the accordion. He played at many weddings and events, and his latest band was 'Don and Friends': Don Gabora, Jerry Gabora, Stan Popowich, Dan Wasyliw and Peter Spelchen. 'Don and Friends' played at many nursing homes and retirement complexes in the Canora area, and even did a recording session and made a CD. John loved to travel. Throughout his life, he and Olga made their way to Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada, the Bahamas, Florida and made many trips to visit family and friends in Calgary and Vancouver. John was an amazingly friendly, welcoming and hospitable person. He had friends of many ages and all backgrounds. He could strike up a conversation with anyone. Everyone who came to visit him was always offered a drink or 2 or 4. His favorite times were when he entertained in his shop. One year for his birthday, he asked Olga to make homemade pizza so that he could have all of the boys over for pizza and drinks. Olga still gets compliments on how good her pizza was. John was predeceased by his parents William and Mary Drozd, his brother Mike Drozd, his father and mother-in-law Peter and Annie Rudnisky, his brothers-in-law Florian Batycki and Metro Kuruliak, his sister-in-law Audrey Cholak and her husband Steve Cholak, and grand-daughter Danni McGirr. He is survived by his loving wife Olga, his children Darrell (Heather) of Saskatoon, Karen (Bill) of Tiny, and Tamara (Scott) of Warman; his grandchildren Brett and Shanna Drozd, Aimee (Ben) Sipple, Shelby Ochitwa, Morgan and Erin McGirr. The Prayer Service was held on Tuesday, June 11th, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. from the Chapel of Leson's Funeral Home, Canora. The Funeral Service was held on Wednesday, June 12th, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, Canora with Very Rev. Fr. Mel Slashinsky officiating. Interment followed in the Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church Cemetery, Gorlitz. Those wishing to make expressions of sympathy may make donations to the Sts. Peter & Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church Cemetery as tokens of remembrance in memory of John. Those unable to attend are invited to sign an on-line guest book at www.lesonsfuneralhome.ca. Arrangements were entrusted to LESON'S FUNERAL HOME, Canora (563-5671).
