Sonnia Grywacheski passed away peacefully at the Norquay Health Centre, Norquay, SK, on March 5, 2025, at the age of 85 years.
Sonnia was born in Canora, SK on June 17, 1939. She was the third of seven children of Peter and Maria (Dranchuk) Olynyk. Sonnia and her siblings grew up in Hyas, SK. She and her future husband, Alphonse, were high school sweethearts, and they married in 1968 and settled in Norquay, SK.
Sonia grew up in a musical family. She loved to sing and taught herself to play accordion. Her father taught Sonnia and her sisters from a young age to harmonize as a group and they were known as the 'Olynyk Sisters'. Sonnia had a strong tenor voice. The sisters sang regularly at church and local concerts, and from 1949-1961, performed in the Associated Canadian Travelers amateur shows which were broadcast on local radio and, later, on television. As an adult, Sonnia always sang in the church choir. She also loved to read, draw, and paint, and the family still has some of her artwork. Like her mother, Sonnia was an avid gardener, and she maintained a large garden until well into her 70s. She was a dedicated parishioner of St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church and was very active in the Rosary Society and the Altar Society. For many years, she opened the church before mass, got everything ready, and locked up after mass. Sonnia had a happy personality, a good sense of humour, and smiled and laughed easily. In later years, even when feeling poorly, she would joke that she was "a tough old bird".
Sonnia was predeceased by her parents, Peter and Maria; husband, Alphonse; brothers, Nestor, Modiste, and Donald; brothers-in-law, Lorne Cherneski, Mike Polowich and Ambrose Grywacheski; sister-in law, Lydia Olynyk; niece, Christina Polowich; and nephew, Taras Olynyk.
She is survived by sisters, Ruth Cherneski, Alice Polowich, and Marie Hladun; sisters-in-law, Rose Olynyk and Chris Olynyk; brother-in-law, Al (Cindy) Grywacheski; and more than a dozen nieces and nephews.
A funeral mass for Sonnia was held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, March 14, 2025, from St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church, Norquay, SK, with Rev. Fr. Andrzej Sowa, OMI, as celebrant. Rite of Committal followed in the Canora Cemetery, Canora, SK.
Those wishing to make expressions of sympathy may make donations to St. Thomas Roman Catholic Church (P.O. Box 254 Norquay, SK S0A 2V0), the Norquay Health Centre (P.O. Box 190), or to a charity of donor’s choice, as tokens of remembrance, in memory of Sonnia Grywacheski. The family thanks Sonnia's neighbours and friends, the church ladies, and the staff of the Norquay Health Centre for their support, care, and friendship. Vichnaya Pamyat. Family and friends unable to attend are invited to sign an online guestbook at .
Arrangements were entrusted to LESON’S FUNERAL HOME, Canora.
