Obituary of Samuel Sharuga

Samuel Clarence Sharuga passed away in the Lloydminster Hospital on Tuesday, December 28 at the age of 84 years. Samuel is survived by: his wife Julia; one daughter Vivian and her husband Dale Slugoski; one son Barwuk; four grandchildren; two brothers and one sister. The funeral service for Samuel Sharuga will be conducted from the Grace United Church, Lloydminster on Friday, December 31 at 12:00 P.M. Donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or to the Lloydminster SPCA. Today we celebrate the life of Sam Sharuga - Dad, grandpa, husband, uncle, great uncle, cousin and friend Samuel Clarence Sharuga – born on the homestead farm near Daysland, on the farm August 8, 1920. Raised in a large family – I believe there were 20 siblings –With my Dad’s passing there are three family members left, Aunt Angie, Uncle John and Uncle ED. It was a blended family – according to today’s terminology – back in those days the creation of a family unit meant survival- husbands, wives and children all necessary to keep the land, the homestead. His family was one of those lucky ones – the family farm still has Sharugas reaping life from the soil. Growing up in the 20’s and the dirty thirties was a tough time, homesteading on the prairies was a tough time and those that survived created the stock that we are today – those that grew up in that time never forgot their life lessons of being thirfty, using up items till there absolutely was no other use for them – today we call it recycling. My Dad was one of those – he believed that you only needed new shoes, clothes when the old ones were wore out – completely- the only other time he could justify new things was if it was too good of a deal to pass up. I remember one time about 6 or 7 years ago Dad found a pair of running shoes that fit him and were too cheap to pass up- I don’t remember him ever owning running shoes but it was a real good deal – he bought them – there was only one problem with them – they were white and real men don’t wear white shoes – so he spray painted them – brown- of course my kids thought that was pretty funny – but in my dads mind he adapted to his needs My dad only had about a Grade 8 education – he was needed on the farm as were all his Brothers and sisters- at an early age 14 or 15 he left home and started “working out” – working for farmers – that was what he knew – driving horses, stooking, threshing machines and the like. As my Dad looked toward his 20’s like many young men coming out of the Great Depression he went looking for that better life – to make something of his future – he held a few different jobs, he began driving a truck between the Daysland/ Holden area and Edmonton – it’s funny how life gets roads crossed – some of the roads that my Dad drove are some of the old trails that run near my home now . June 21, 1941 – the day my Dad enlisted in the Canadian Army – he was very proud of this service with the Canadian Army serving overseas – he told many stories of his comrades, his Army buddies and he always told me that he wanted to be buried with his army blanket – like most of his army buddies that he buried in the various European campaigns he was in. My kids are able to tell the stories of Grandpa raiding chicken coops for eggs in Continental Europe, raiding gardens , oh yes, like a lot of young men – they even found liquor caches – all shared with the army buddies – He recalled the welcomes received from of the people of the various countries that the Nazis were driven from – from what I understand they shared anything they could with the Canadian soldiers that were helping to liberate their countries -the one thing that has come up over and over again is how lucky he felt that he was to survive – he very strongly believed that someone was looking out for him – be it God or Guardian angels – he re-told many times the premonitions that kept him alive- tanks blown up – BUT he survived, driving his motorcycle along booby trapped roads and the angels showing up in front of him to warn him away- he was a survivor and proud to serve the world in helping to keep it free. At the age of 26 my Dad received his discharge papers – he had 1939/45 Star of France and Germany, the Defence medal and the Canadian Volunteer service medal and clasp. We can’t even imagine the horrors that such a young man faced but for all of those that defended the world’s freedome, we remain eternally grateful. After the war my Dad decided to try his luck with steady work in Yellowknife, working in the Gold mine up there –It was in Yellowknife that my parents met – on June 24, 1949 they were married in Sask. Dad started a new career as a Wheat Pool agent – Round Hill being their first posting – heart of good grain farming country- Spring of 1951 brought the arrival of their first born daughter – Vivian Merle–and a change of location – Wayne, Alberta was to be their home for the next five years –in 1954 son Clarence Calvin was born followed on Halloween Eve 1956 another daughter Marianne Judith. 1957 saw a transfer to the small farming town of Rowley where the family settled for about a dozen years. My Dad operated the twin Alberta Wheat Pool elevators there – he was pretty proud as none of the other elevator agents had two elevators. Back then the elevators and the Railroad was what kept the little prairie towns alive. Phones weren’t like today – I can recall having about 12 to 15 families on the party line – the elevators agents were usually up on what was going on as it was a social place as well – as farmers came in with the grain there was an update on the news of the community and there was always a coffee pot on at my dads elevator – of course anyone that had time for a coffee also HAD to have time for a game of crib. I’m sure there weren’t too many farmers that didn’t have time for a quick game – harvest time being the exception. It was during this time that some of his farming roots began calling – I remember driving to various Farms for Sale – Dad was looking to go farming – he bought a few cows and rented pasture land near the house in Rowley – Mom and Dad milked the cows and I can remember having to stand downstairs in the dark basement whipping that cream for butter – In the end Dad kept on with the Alberta Wheat Pool getting a transfer to Blackfoot after Rowley. During the Rowley years Dad got “Holidays” – real paid holidays – we went to Waskisieu, Sask. Dad had a boat and fishing was what really got him excited – he pulled a lot of big fish from Lac La Ronge, Sandy Lake – we’ve got a few pictures of them- oh yes – there were a lot of fish stories. My Dad always left the campsite early in the morning cause that was when the fish were biting – he lived for those fishing days . Winter time in Rowley was curling time – both Dad and Mom curled in the next town – going to a few bonspiels – winning a few and loosing a few –Winter time was also skating time for us kids – my dad was always one to get the local skating rink going – standing outside putting water on the ice – shoveling it off for us town kids to use – and back in those days if you were lucky your parents curled and worn out broom – that meant you had your own broom for broom-ball Blackfoot was where Dad retired from the Wheat Pool – they had always lived in the Pool House – They decided to look for their own home and Lloydminster was the town they decided to retire in. They built their own home –proud home owners - finished just in time for their first childs wedding –mine – In 1973 – this celebration was followed by a devasting time in 1974 their youngest child Marianne was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident. Mom and Dad celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary that year and my brother and myself gave them a trip to the Seattle Worlds Fair – now you all know that my Dad is Polish – even though he really wasn’t in a good frame of mind to enjoy the Worlds Fair – he used up every paid and free ticket that he was given for this Worlds fair – Mom was pooped by the end of each day. Throughout his life my Dad was always looking to share a funny story or play a joke – one that I didn’t know about was with his nephew, Marvin. On his wedding day the nervous groom was escorted to the church by my Dad, along with the best men to await the bride and bridal party – Marvin was kind of surprised that there was no one at the church when they arrived because he had checked his watch several times and he felt that surely someone should be at the church as the service was scheduled to start within a very short time - -he kept wondering about this – time went on and still no one came to the church did he, his best men and Uncle Sam get the wrong church? Uncle Sam asked “ surely that the bride hadn’t changed her mind? – Nerves were beginning to shake—unbeknown to Marvin and the best man – My Dad had got hold of their watches and the clock in their dressing room and set them one hour ahead of time – My Dad had pulled a fast one – they were at the church over an hour early – After Dad retired from the Pool he went into various short term ventures with my brother – they ran the Husky restraurant for a while, Dad helped my brother start up the Pizza Patio. My Dad was an SPCA officer for a few years – he felt very strongly about the welfare of animals and that they should be treated with respect and dignity – even if it was a skunk that had strayed into an unwelcome situation – As my family grew to include three daughters Grandpa felt that they should come to the Shelter in Lloyd and pick out their new puppy – it was one of a few litters that someone had brought in unwanted – I’m not sure if that’s where the saying “ Shouldn’t happen to a dog” came from but we have all heard him say it. Fishing continued to be part of Dads social time and for a few years after they moved to Lloyd Dad and a few of his fishing buddies went to Moose Lake to fish for a few days , Dad taking his old morothome and fishing boat – I remember one story Dad told – they boys took turns cooking meals – it was Dads turn to cook – he always had a special thing for canned stew – thought it was great – he had bough groceries before they went and of course canned stew was on the menu – he called everyone in for the meal – bread was put on the table along with the pot of canned stew – most everyone was commenting on how good it was and that it tasted a bit different – Dad told me he glanced into the garbage where he had thrown the stew cans and there was a picture of a cute little dog staring back at him – he had served up some canned dog food along with the canned stew – he said he never did tell his friends. He always said that asked for more bread to sop up the gravy because ti was so good. Between 1979 to 1984 Dad became Grandpa to my three girls, Melissa, Nicole and Amanda and my brothers son Adam – now there was new blood to teach about fishing and crib! As pretty everyone in this church will tell you Crib was one of my Dad’s favorite social activities – He was always wanting to challenge some one for the Championship – it didn’t matter if it was the Sask or the Alberta championship – and if you didn’t know how to play crib – he was willing to teach you – he had many crib sayings – I’m sure you all know About “the dogs breakfast”, shouldn’t happen to a dog but it happened to me, 7 come 11 and then if he skunked you he was chasing the imaginary skunk away from the looser – I’m understanding that at least one of my Aunts got pretty excited as she really didn’t know what exactly it was that he was chasing away from her under the table… Of course there were the “cuts” in crib – I don’t know if there was ever anyone as lucky as Dad – he always said ask and you shall receive – it didn’t matter if Dad asked for a Queen, five or Eight – he almost always got the cut- no one to this day knows what made him so lucky. All the grandkids, nephews, great nephews learned how to count by 15-2, 15-4 and 3make , and most of them on the old gold footstool. And heaven forbid if anyone got zero points in the crib – then you played by Sams Rule – nothing in the crib is 19 back-which meant that you lost 19 points…There were a lot of life discussions and lessons learned at the crib board – and some how he always seemed to have that crib board with him – why Dale and him played crib within the last two weeks of his life. When I asked my girls to come up with some memories of Grandpa, Amanda said that Grandpa really taught her about Roberto Alamar and his ability to steal bases – you see Grandpa had taught Amanda to watch baseball on TV and shown her how to watch the fine art of stealing bases – Amanda says that she knows nothing about baseball other than Roberto Alamar is great at stealing bases. My kids can all remember Grandpas saying at meal times – Pack her hard – make her last – you never know when you’ll get your next meal’ I’m sure that this must come from his childhood, the depression and his time in the war – our family knew that if potatoes and gravy were served you ALWAYS made sure that you got to the potatoes BEFORE GRANDPA As time moved on in his retired life he again changed careers. He began working on a system to win the big lottery – My Dad had pages and pages of numbers and formulas for the big 649. We never knew Grandpa to drive into our yard without his coveralls, tool box, some spare parts for which ever Datsun he was driving – you know just in case. He also became known throughout the Lloydminster area as a backyard fix-it if you have a Datsun guy – Some of the Pick – A-Part or U-Pull it lots became his favorite shopping centers. Most every local auctioneer kept their eyes out for his presence. You could call him thirty as he was always looking for a bargain. Speaking of thrifty – I’m not sure if my Dad was saving his false teeth or just couldn’t get used to them but I’m sure we all know that he only put them in to eat – my kids tell of going to Bonanza buffet with Grandpa and Grandma – everyone getting their plates and Grandpa suddenly getting up and leaving –10 minutes later he was back with his teeth. He was always forgetting his concaves as he called them In your memorial handout there is a short poem that my Dad came across a few years back – he made copies of it and passed it to many people – I will ask that you do the same There are many stories, jokes and good times with my Dad to be shared we ask that you Please share them with us at the luncheon after the service On behalf of my Mom, my brother Barwuk, , myself, my husband Dale our children Melissa, Nicole Amanda and Marvin and Dianne we thank you for sharing your prayers and thoughts with us today and for sharing your life with my Dad – Sam Sharuga.