Obituary of Gerry Gazdewich

Gerry Gazdewich passed away in the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Wednesday, May 11, 2016 at the age of 68 years. Gerry leaves to cherish his memory: his children: Garth (Cheryl Berglund)Gazdewich and their children, Rowan and Maddox; Melissa (Kelly) Studer and their children, Chloe and Gillian; Mom Nettie Gazdewich (nee Derkatch); brothers and sisters: Lorne (Sharon) Gazdewich, Brent (Donna) Gazdewich, Cori Wade, Delwyn (Marilyn) Gazdewich, Cindee (Wally) Danielson, Colleen Gazdewich and Clarissa (Dwayne) Mydonick. Gerry was predeceased by his wife Marlene Gazdewich, father Steve Gazdewich and brother Tim Gazdewich. Funeral service for Gerry will be held at the St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 at 10:00 AM. Donations in memory of Gerry may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or charity of choice. Card of Thanks Garth, Melissa and family’s would especially like to express our heartfelt thanks to The Lloydminster Hospital, Home Care Staff, friends and family that helped us throughout these last months. Words cannot express how truly grateful we are for your kindness and compassion. Eulogy for Gerald Gazdewich Good Afternoon, my name is Garth Gazdewich Thank you all very much for joining family and friends to celebrate the life of Gerald Gazdewich, my father. To some he was known as Gerry or Big Gaz. I see familiar faces and some new ones which go to show you that Dad truly was a part of many lives. As we gather here today, Melissa and I would like us to focus on the stories of interactions with Dad. I choose to focus on the stories of laughter, compassion, expectation and caring. When I think of my father, I think of a gentle, quiet, caring man who would at the drop of a hat do anything you ask for family and friends. Don’t get me wrong, if Dad wanted to speak his mind or let you know he disagreed strongly with a decision or opinion – he could push back with a firm tone. It was never arms in the air, retching around wildly but a firm voice that would make ones ears stand up and command your attention. Dad is the eldest of nine brothers and sisters. Grandma you are an exceptional woman to be able to manage that many children. Why today if you have eight or more kids you get a reality show on TV. Uncle Brent shared a story when he and Dad were wee lads on the farm outside Norquay SK. Dad was 12 and Brent 6 when they were playing hide and seek in and amongst the stooks. Dad was hiding and Brent was running around trying to find him but Dad had left a pitchfork lying close to his location – now Brent thinks it might have been left there on purpose because he ended up with a pitchfork in the side of the knee. Dad then had to carry Brent across the field back to the farmhouse so that he could get patched up. I am very sure there were more shenanigans that went on at the farm over the years. Not sure how many of you knew that he had a dislike for raisins. I had just thought he did not like the taste or texture of them. When he was a toddler, Grandma was busy on the farm running around tending to livestock etc. and she would put Dad in his playpen. There were no popcorn twists or cheerios to tie children over back in the olden days, so she decided raisins would be a good idea. Grandma would throw a handful of delicious raisins in the pen for Dad. He would gobble them up but as I learn now, he always considered them to look like flies and so goes the story of his dislike for raisins. I am certain the flies were plentiful on the farm and in his case he would have snacked on them as well. Dad and Mom worked hard when they arrived in Lloydminster to provide for Melissa and me. Dad was welding and putting in long shifts. I remember the time that Dad took Melissa and me to the Universal shop where he was working, North of town on our first fishing expedition. I was maybe five or six and Melissa was running around in the mud. They had trout in that pond so Dad was careful to put the fly on the hook and the red and white bobber. He cast the hook out a few yards into the pond, handed me the rod and told me to hang onto it, watch if the bobber moved and if so pull the rod up and start reeling. Well just like any other 5-year old, those instructions went in one ear and out the other. After about a minute nothing was happening and I thought fishing sucked. I wanted to go play in the mud like Melissa. He told me firmly that I needed to be patient as fishing takes time. Eventually that bobber did go up and down. I was so excited that I completely forgot all the tips on reeling in the line and started running the other way, rod in hand. After a few feet the fish was flopping on shore. I had caught my first fish. Dad grabbed the rod, reeled in the line to make sure it did not get all tangled up as he wanted to make sure the gear stayed in tip top shape. He was very particular of his stuff. Fishing was a passion of his and many years later my brother-in-law – Kelly and I were fortunate to go out to the BC Coast and fish for Salmon, Halibut and other fish. Dad just laughed at us green horns the three days we were out there as Kelly and I took turns casting, catching and leaning over the boat to lay chum. So much fun that ocean fishing. While we were complaining about our stomachs, he was complaining about how sore his arms were getting reeling in all the fish. Some of Melissa’s fondest memories were watching “Funniest Home Videos” and “Just for Laughs” with Dad. They would literally soil (keeping it clean) themselves laughing at those shows for years. They even watched some of the shows in the hospital. Another inside joke between Dad and Melissa is when they had gone to visit Grandpa Boser at the Jubilee Home. They had sat down for coffee and all of the residents would make their way into the coffee room. There was one guy who would always show up in his waffle knit underwear. They thought this was funny and they would have a good chuckle. Dad would tell Melissa if he was ever in that position……..to make sure he had sweat pants on at least. Another great passion of Dad’s was sports. It was a large part of his life from playing hockey, curling in the winter to golf and ball in the summer. Once his playing days were over, he shifted to the officiating side of things. He refereed hockey in the winter and then once the ball season started up he donned on the navy and blue to umpire ball. He loved umping as Softball back in the 80’s around Lloydminster was huge. No one really played baseball around these parts. It was all about Softball. I remember travelling to tournaments on weekends with him. He would alternate umpiring behind home plate and doing the bases. Normally we would show up at the tournament in Lashburn / Chauvin or wherever around 7am. We would then have a toolbox meeting behind the car while Dad was getting dressed. He would give me a couple of bucks to tie me over and say, don’t leave the ball park and don’t get into any trouble. That was a green light for me to do whatever I wanted so long as nobody ratted me out. (Maddox this does not apply to you). Child care was so much easier in those days. Dad would ump all day rain or shine. I chased foul balls and earned two bits for every ball brought back to the score keeper. At the end of each day, Dad and the other umpires would pop the top off a few stubby’s and talk about the day’s action. Dad’s highlight came in the early 80’s where he was selected to Umpire in a Junior Women’s National Championship. He was very proud of that accomplishment and every so often he would bring it up in discussion. I thought those trips were so cool and will cherish them forever. Dad was able to travel around for work over the years spending time in Norman Wells N.W.T. and overseas in Yemen. He would tell stories of how cold it was in Norman Wells. How the sun never went down in the summer and how the sun never came up in the winter. His trips to Yemen he would talk about some of the dangers riding around in the back of his vehicle with his driver and security guard brandishing AK47s for protection. Up and down the right away of the pipeline, hitting security check points every so often. He never really did get used to that. I would have felt sorry for anyone who might have tried to kidnap him as he would have likely told his captures that you grabbed the wrong guy. If my wife comes over here, you will be in big trouble. Mom was a bit of a pistol. Some of you that knew him through work around Lloydminster may not believe this but he really did enjoy his consulting work. I know he was tough on some but we would talk every other day and he would always look forward to the day’s work activities. Whether it was working on a turnaround at a nearby Oil Battery or overseeing the offload and setting of a field tank, Dad always looked forward to working in the Oilpatch. To his Grandchildren, Grandpa loved spending time with all of you. I would speak to him often about Chloe and Gillian’s adventures and how busy they were. If it wasn’t gymnastics, it was horses or 4H or school, band trips and how hard the girls work to juggle their busy lives. On weekends during the summer, I usually caught him at a Chuckwagon event where the girls might be riding in with the Canadian Flag for the anthem or helping behind the scenes with the outrider horses. Most of the time he would fill me in on which driver knocked over a barrel and how that would cost him precious seconds for day money. Dad would come to Calgary usually around an important event for the kids. He would come for Rowan’s dancing and musicals or Maddox’s Hockey. He recently visited us a couple of times, once for Rowan’s Musical which he went to watch on his own and another to look after the kids while Cheryl and I went away. I had told him once he got to Calgary to be prepared that he had to turn around and go on a Bus Trip to Oyen for Maddox’s Hockey game. Sure enough 8am Saturday morning on the bus for a 5-hour trip one way to go watch the Cochrane Rockies get their butts kicked 13-1. When I asked how Maddox played, he was quiet and only mentioned he was on the ice for less than half of the goals (-6 not bad son). That’s better than some of the fella’s in this room. He started to slow down over the past few years and coffee meetings seemed to become the norm. I would call him on my way into work and his routine consisted of getting ready for the first round of coffee early in the day either at Tim Horton’s or Arby’s. Sometimes I would catch him already there hearing the old boys in the background talking about everything under the sun. He enjoyed his 3-5 coffee sessions each day. That just seemed to me like a whole lot of bathroom breaks. Dad did keep his humor during his stay in the Hospital. Just two weeks ago Melissa was visiting and the nurses came into the room and told him they needed to reposition him up higher into the bed. One nurse said “ Gerry you are such a tall man – you need a taller bed” He fired back quickly “ and ……… I need a taller nurse to move me!” There are countless other stories and memories I will remember. I am sure all of you have your own to look back on. He provided a good life for his family and I choose to remember all of the good times, the funny times because he was my father and I will miss him. Thank you all for coming!