Obituary of Lori Kobsar

Lori Emile Kobsar passed away at the Lloydminster Hospital, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at the age of 48 years.

Lori is survived by: his mother, Mayme Boyer and families; and his father, Larry Kobsar and families.

The Funeral Service for Lori will be conducted from Southridge Community Church, Lloydminster, Alberta on Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 2:00 PM.

Donations in memory of Lori may be made to the MS Society of Canada or Lloydminster Kinsmen Club.

Lori's funeral card can be viewed or downloaded from the link below. 

https://indd.adobe.com/view/d71e388f-c467-44ac-b811-5ac3abaa05f1

Eulogy:

Good afternoon.  Thank you for joining us here today.  We are all here out of tremendous love and respect for Lori.  We will honour his memory with a promise to live a little better for having known him.   My name is Greg Thompson.  I am Lori’s Brother-in-Law and I will be speaking on behalf of Jody today.

 These are his words:                                                                                                

            Lori Emile Kobsar was born on June 22nd 1971 to Mayme Boyer and Larry Kobsar.  Predeceased by his grandparents Emile and Margret Boyer, George and Phyllis Kobsar, his Goddaughter Nya, best friends Jay and Sunny and his little dog Arwen. 

            How do I describe Lori?  Lori was unique.  And I know that can be said about anyone, but Lori was more unique than most.   His laugh could fill a room and bring a smile to anyone who heard it.  He was my brother.  My past.     The co-keeper of my childhood.  He was artistic, athletic, free-spirited, and hard working. 

He was fearless and a fierce protector of his loved ones. 

            Lori always had a love for dogs as he grew up helping to feed and water at least ten grey hounds at a time.  He had a very kind heart for all animals, including the pigs and horses that he tended to as a young boy. This is where Lori learned his work ethic.

            It was about this time we also discovered a hatred for weeding gardens and picking roots.  We must have been bad little buggers because it seems we had to do that a lot.  However all that gardening seemed to have paid off as Lori picked up quite the green thumb later in life!!!

            Some of our best times as kids were spent together dirt biking & snowmobiling.  There are a lot of stories about snaring gophers at teamropings with our cousins George and Richard but I’m afraid that those stories will have to stay tucked away for another day. 

            We always had fun times camping and water skiing with yearly Kobsar / Behm trips to Loon Lake & Ministikwin.  I still can’t believe that Papa, Gramma and Great Gramma Ringland used to take all of the Grandkids for an entire week.  We all learned how to play crib and Uno.  And of course to roll smokes.

            Lori cherished his time out at the Boyer acreage learning how to look after rabbits, gardening, picking berries, eating homemade buns, exploring, shooting, playing lawn darts and horse shoes.

            When we moved into Lloyd, Lori was involved in hockey, high school basketball and handball.  I don’t know how many games he ever finished with that quick temper but he was always a fan favorite and loved by his teammates.

 It was about this time we gained step-sisters.   Staci’s friends came over in droves to check out our new blended family.  They spent hours downstairs with Lori “working on schoolwork”…   He sure was studious back then…  Four teenagers brought issues but it also brought a lot of laughter and great memories.  Obviously, Lori and Staci were the trouble makers while Geni and I were the angels.  At least that is how I remember it?

            After graduating, Lori moved to BC where he framed houses and worked as a contractor building fences.  Lori’s motto was to work twice as hard as everyone so that he could leave early and enjoy life twice as hard!!!

            It was upon his return to Lloyd still hard at work in construction, that Lori was diagnosed with MS.  Realizing that the effects of MS would require him to make some lifestyle changes, Lori applied to art school in Calgary where he ventured off to pursue his passion of drawing.  When vision problems arose, Lori changed course yet again, returning home to open up his tattoo parlour Wicked Ink.  Lori was the only guy I knew who had sleeves before it was hip.        

Lori used to love to go mountain biking at Mount Joy with his buddy Jim Taylor.  I used to lecture him on how he was going to get hurt.  He would just laugh and tell me “Not me Jody, I’m invincible!”  And didn’t we all just believe he was?

            Some of Lori’s other favourite things to do were the poker games over at our cousin Darren’s or Michelle’s houses and of course watching the UFC fights.   Family was everything.

            Years ago, family and friends came together to hold a fundraiser so that Lori could receive a new therapy in Albany, New York.   We had a small window of time so I decided to rent a car and drive to Cooperstown to check out the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  It didn’t interest Lori much but he was a good sport about it.  As we were driving, he unrolled the window.  A smile slowly spreading across his face and softly said, “This might be the best day ever.”  And it was. 

            Lori was happiest when he was surrounded by his family – even during those inevitable tough times that life has a way of throwing at you.  We travelled to Cabo (his favourite place in the world) a few years ago and he was in his glory drinking tequila with his uncles, cousins and his nephew Tan-man.  It was great to see him smile and laugh.    I am not sure how many of you have travelled the friendly Mediterranean skies but in Cabo there are some challenges to say the least.  In order to scale the steep stairs to board the plane, we had to strap Lori onto a narrow contraption known as an “aisle chair” and carry him up.    He laughed in the big infectious way that only Lori could laugh and said, “I wish I had a Hannibal Lector Mask”.  

            As the years passed, Lori softened, enjoying the little things in life.  Reminiscing, basking in the sun and helping to tend the flowers at Points West. 

            We would like to thank Cousin Desiree, Jennifer and the staff at Lloyd Continuing Care for all of their support and help for the last year.

            We would also like to thank the Lloydminster MS Society and the Lloydminster Kinsmen Club for everything they have done over the years.

            .  There are many wonderful aspects to Lori’s life, and many ways that he touched our lives.  Now that he has passed away, of course there is emptiness and pain, confusion and maybe even anger at this terrible disease but in many ways, the gift of Lori’s life is still here with us.  He lives on in our memories and stories, and in what all of us have become because of him. To Mayme, Twyla, Jody and Tanner – We thank you for everything you have done over the years.  You can take comfort in how you cared so long and lovingly.   I pray that good memories can help ease the pain of this loss.   So I encourage you to share - today, tomorrow and in the years to come.  In this way we will keep the gift of Lori’s life alive. 

 To our son, brother, uncle and friend; you put in a twenty year battle with this terrible disease.

 We love you! 

Rest easy and we will see you on the other side.