Edward Nykiforuk

Good afternoon everyone. It is with broken hearts and deepest sadness that we gather together on this day today to reflect on the life of a very special man, Dr. Edward Nykiforuk - or "Dr. Ed" as his patients so lovingly called him. Not only was he a highly respected doctor, he was a well-loved man who touched the hearts and lives of many. We all mourn his loss deeply and as his wife Auntie Heather says, there truly will never be another like him.

My name is Robert (Rob or Robbie) Bryshun. I am Dr. Nykiforuk’s nephew, youngest son of Diana, who is Ed’s younger sister. Sadly, my mother isn’t able to attend today due to her own fragile state of health but, on behalf of my mother and the rest of my family, I would like to extend our deepest sympathy for your loss to Auntie Heather and Dr. Nykiforuk’s children and grandchildren: Wanda, Brent, Jeremy, Meagan and Connor Burbridge, Ross, Tami and Eric Nykiforuk, Lynne and Duane Mondue, Kelly Stam and Heather Snare and Robin Krilyk.

I’m profoundly honoured and privileged to be here today because uncle Ed was one of the people in my life to whom I looked up to the most and I know that many of you here feel the very same way. It’s been said that he was a very special man and he held a special place in each of our hearts. His laugh was deep and infectious. He was a rock in our family and for so many other people – a beacon of love and hope.

Today we express our heartfelt gratitude for everything that Uncle Ed did for us and our loved ones but also to celebrate his life and his accomplishments and to remember him fondly by sharing our memories and thoughts together…by mourning together and hopefully by laughing a little too. This is what Uncle Ed would have wanted.

My thanks to everyone who contributed by sharing their stories and sentiments with me. I’ve tried my best to include as many of them as I could so if I didn’t fit your story in or articulate it quite like you would have liked, I beg your forgiveness in advance.

Family History

Uncle Ed was born to Wanda and George Nykiforuk on July 1, 1933. He was the 4th in line of 9 children – older siblings Adolf, Julien and Emma followed by younger siblings Delores, Helen, Diana, Johnny and Terry.

Ed took his primary grades at Steep Creek Public School till Grade 6. Grades 7 to 11 were completed at Saskatchewan Forks Public and High School. Of his own volition and with the encouragement of his parents, Ed went on to complete his Grade 12 at PACI in Prince Albert. Apparently, Grandpa George was determined that one of his children was going to be a doctor and, well…you could say that Grandpa got his way.

Growing up on the farm, young Edward spent many happy times fishing in the North Saskatchewan River, picking blueberries in the area, spending traditional Christmases on the farm with his parents, siblings and extended family enjoying sleigh and caboose rides as well as skating on open ponds.

For those of you who know the Nykiforuk family, especially the brothers, they all tend to be pranksters and enjoy pulling one over on whoever might be an easy and convenient target. In this sense, Ed was no exception and he came by his sense of humour honestly at a very young age – pulling pranks, joking, snickering and giggling in class much to the dismay of his teachers. He was a thrill-seeker, adventurous and daring as a youngster too which was a characteristic he maintained throughout his life – getting in

the glue with his grandpa John for his acrobatic stunts in the hayloft of the old barn, riding his bike atop the ruins of LaColle Falls and exploring every crevice, hole and cave he could find in the area. Even daring to swim in the North Saskatchewan despite the fact that he only knew how to dog-paddle time.

Music was a very important part of Ed’s upbringing as Grandpa George was an accomplished accordion player. George loved to entertain and family and friends and the whole family usually got in on the action – his sister Emma was skilled on the piano while Ed and some of his brothers contributed as best they could on guitar or accordion. At one point, while he was in Grade 12 Ed actually had a small “pick up” orchestra and he fondly recalled later how much he enjoyed playing at dances.

Ed was very proud and grateful to his parents Wanda and George for making the many sacrifices, providing him with the love, caring and continued support in his studies through University. Wanda and George were especially proud when Ed graduated from medicine in 1959, winning the John Diefenbaker President’s award for having achieved the highest grades in his graduating class. For those of you who knew Grandpa George, you know that he loved John Diefenbaker to the Nth degree which made Ed’s accomplishments in University that much more special.

Ed met Helen Norris, a nursing school student from Eston, SK while they were both in university and the two married on June 21, 1957. After graduation, the “now Dr. Ed Nykiforuk” interned at St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon, then went into general practice for a short time in Wilkie, Saskatchewan. Six months later Dr. Nykiforuk and his family moved to North Battleford and then to Hafford, Saskatchewan from 1961-1971.

While in Hafford, the Nykiforuk's were blessed with three children – Wanda, Ross and Lynn. The family became involved in Hafford/Speers community affairs with the Speers United Church with a lot of time and effort put into the development and opening of Redberry Lake Regional Park. This was something that uncle Ed and his family took a great deal of pride in.

Coming full circle in July 1971, the family returned to Saskatoon where Dr. Ed joined two well respected and busy general practitioners in Saskatoon. Ed continued to work until April 2019 when health issues forced him to retire. While he actually made an effort to retire and “cut back” on work, his family will confirm, that it never really happened.

During Ed's years in the practice of medicine, he continued going to the farm at Steep Creek and kept in close contact with his parents, brothers and sisters. He very much enjoyed assisting on the farm whenever he was able, with seeding and especially during harvest.

In 1980, Ed and Helen purchased the cabin at Candle Lake which was his pride and joy. He loved the lake. No, he Really, REALLY loved the lake AND all the toys that go with the lake – boats, Sea-Doos, sailboats, canoes, snowmobile, water-skis, zero-turn mower and skidsteer, etc, etc, etc. So many toys!!

Devastation and tragedy befell Ed’s family when it became known Helen was ill with Lou Gehrig's Disease, a progressive fateful illness which claimed her life on November 11, 1987. Ed was devastated and understandably, it was a very sad time for everyone.

A few years later, friends Vi and Bill Hunter of Saskatoon introduced Ed to Heather who at the time was a realtor in Edmonton. Romance blossomed between the two and Ed and Heather were married on April

28, 1990. Heather brought with her two daughters, Kelly and Robin and of course, granddaughter “Little” Heather.

Heather and Ed undertook a major renovation of the cottage in 2003, following which they continued to enjoy peaceful retreats to Candle Lake where they went golfing, fishing and boating while always looking forward to the company of children, grandchildren, other family member and plenty of friends. Uncle Ed was particularly fond of his and auntie Heather’s schnauzer named Jake. He sure loved that dog!

Ed and Heather also loved travelling to Manzanillo, Mexico and took numerous trips to Florida, where they owned a beautiful condo. The Florida trips were always a highlight for Uncle Ed and Aunt Heather because they were able to spend a lot of quality time together and also with Kelly and granddaughter Heather.

While in Florida one year, Uncle Ed had an opportunity to fly a vintage WW2 Mustang plane which I’m told was his favorite plane. His co pilot was a fighter pilot just back from the war in Iraq. He later said that it was one of the best days of his life. Another time while in Florida on vacation Uncle Ed and one of his good buddies went to a shooting range and shot AR 45 automatic machine guns! They had a blast.

Flying

In his own reflections on his life, Ed has confessed that his three great passions were his family, the practice of medicine and not surprisingly, flying and anyone who knew Dr. Ed was well aware of his love of being in the air. Even his email was [email protected]

It was while the family was in Hafford that Ed first got his pilot’s license which opened the door to many long trips with his ''red mistress'' the Piper Comanche ''OIF''. Ed even ventured all the way to at Riverside, California to visit Henry and Orma Zbesheski. According to Ed, Henry was not particularly impressed with Ed's single engine aircraft risky venture through the mountains.

Ed admitted that he found flying to be a kind of retreat – in his own words: he could relax and enjoy the changing scenery from the air – the bright canola yellows, the soft blues of flax, the windswept waves of wheat. Nature’s beauty at its best. He found the fall colors along the North Saskatchewan River to be particularly beautiful and enjoyed seeing the changes take place over the fields and farms through the years as one can only witness from the air.

Ed loved his faithful Comanche airplane and it was a very sad day for him when he finally sold it. He talked about the plane even in his last days at the hospital, worrying about whether it was outside in the cold.

The more people I spoke with over the past several days, I realized that there were more and more stories about Ed, his “red mistress” and the “near misses” he had. There’s no question that he was passionate about flying and definitely liked to live on the edge. He was a thrill seeker his entire life.

There are numerous accounts of Ed doing tricks in his plane above the farm – thrilling his brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews…and almost giving poor Grandma a heart attack while doing it.

There was at least one legitimate account of a situation where he was joy-riding with his sister-in-law and niece when his landing gear unexpectedly wouldn’t come down. Being the skilled pilot he was,

amongst many screams and tears of his young passenger in particular, he eventually managed to finesse the landing gear out and safely land the plane.

Ed was famous for buzzing the tops of the spruce trees along the driveway and the homestead every time he flew out to the farm. This was his trademarked way of letting everyone know that he had arrived. Sometimes they knew Ed was on his way and expected him to do his famous fly by and other times he showed up unexpectedly and would scare the living daylights out of everyone. It was one of those situations where “he’s not there then suddenly there he is” and some of the uncles pretty much had to get out of the tractor to “scrape their leg” after some of the more sudden and uncomfortably close “fly-bys” that occurred while they were working the fields.

Ed made a point to make sure everyone knew that he had made it. One of his brothers – Terry, Johnny or Julien – would pick him up from his landing strip, which was located on his field east of the homestead. Ed was kind of like Santa Claus making an appearance according to some of the nieces and nephews because more often than not he would have a box of donuts or some sort or goodies waiting for them.

The mischievous grin on his face and twinkle in his eye were always there when his brothers would pull up to the landing strip.... that said, “what did you think of that fly by?!”

And naturally, when it was time for him to leave, whether back home to Saskatoon or to the cabin at Candle Lake, he would always do his famous fly by over the yard buzzing those spruces or the farm. His way of saying an “aerial” goodbye I guess and whoever was on the farm watching him depart, they would typically stand and watch until Uncle Ed and his plane vanished off into the distance.

Stories and Thoughts

There’s no question that Ed loved practicing medicine which I think most of us will agree was more than just a passion for him….it was his calling and he was dedicated to his profession and his patients for his entire life. In the words of one of his colleagues – Uncle Ed was an exceptional and amazing man, one of a kind, thoroughly loved his work was highly respected and acknowledged by his peers.

And if he wasn’t working in his practice, he always had something else to do – work in the yard, in the house, wax the plane, mow the forest at the lake, and the thousand other jobs that he always found at the lake. For those who knew Uncle Ed best it seemed that he wasn’t really happy unless he was busy.

Uncle Ed loved staying active and doing things with his children and had a particular passion for anything that went fast – plane, car, snowmobile, seadoo, boat – the faster the better. He loved nothing more than dunking his kids off the seadoo when he was driving or dumping them out of the tube while pulling them behind the boat. He enjoyed fishing, and working at the cabin and was truly a jack of all trades taking on almost any job no matter how big or small – whether it be installing the pool at his own home or taking on plumbing, carpentry or electrical jobs…he was capable of pretty much anything that he put his mind to.

He loved telling jokes. But he was a terrible joke teller!! He would always start laughing before the end, sometimes uncontrollably, and the funniest thing about the joke was never the joke itself, but how hard he laughed when he was telling it.

Uncle Ed just loved the farm and visiting with his family and helping with harvest when he could. He never lost his love of the land and he had such a soft spot for all of his brothers and sisters and their families. They talked often on the phone – first Johnny, then Julien, then Terry – always a parade of phone calls, especially if there was a problem on the farm, or a birthday, or some other special event.

Uncle Ed had a heart of gold and always seemed to be interested in what was happening everyone’s lives. He helped almost anyone, family, friend or patient, who reached out to him. Sometimes there were lineups of family members waiting to ask Uncle Ed a question about health concerns and he always took the time to answer each one. And if any family member was having serious health concerns, if he couldn’t provide the help himself, he would help them make connections to see specialists in the area of their need. He was so compassionate and easy to talk to. And when he spoke, people listened.

Family was so important to Uncle Ed and he always did what he could to show support or help in any way he could. Whether that meant having a homesick first year university student over for dinner or braving treacherous driving conditions to attend a family supper in support of his niece who was diagnosed with cancer, if there was anything Uncle Ed could do to help, he did.

Uncle Ed was known for a lot of things and one was his trademark firm “handshake.” No one had a handshake quite like his. For those who aren’t familiar with it, he would grab your hand (sometimes just your fingers) with such a firm hold it made you squirm. And of course he’d giggle that laugh of his each and every time. Definitely one of a kind.

Anecdotes

Uncle Ed and his family hosted Grandma Nykiforuk’s birthday several times at their home in Saskatoon in the 70s and because it was summer, of course, everyone was encouraged to enjoy the pool. Invariably, someone ended up in the pool at the hands of Uncle Ed against their will. You never knew who, or when it was going to happen but it was definitely going to happen. My dad and uncle Terry for sure but more often than not, Ed accompanied them in…clothes, shoes and all much to the amusement of everyone there.

Uncle Ed was actually my family doctor for a period of time and he also looked after my two children while we were in Saskatoon during my university years. Well, for one reason or another I needed a full physical so down dropped my britches and you can imagine what followed…I have to say that it’s kind of an odd feeling as a young man to have your uncle inspecting your junk and giving you the old “finger in the bum” test. Haha!! I shared this story with my older brother Curtis and he mentioned that he had the same experience but apparently uncle Ed offered to get my brother a second opinion right then and there. HOLD UP TWO fingers…Well, uncle Ed just roared and suffice it to say that my brother declined getting the second opinion. Haha!!

One time in late June or early July sometime in the 70s probably, Edward and Julien went for a drive to Kinistino to the Implement Dealership for parts. The dealership happened to also sell motorbikes and Uncle Ed thought it’d be great idea to get one for Ross. But first, he decided that he’d have to take it for a test drive. Well, the test drive didn’t go as planned and all hell broke loose. Edward ended up going head over teakettles on the bike and scraped up his elbows and hands. He got back to the dealership all banged up and bloody and well, that was that. He simply declared: “No thanks, I wont’ be taking it!” Ed and Julien jumped into their vehicle and off they went. No motorbike for Ross.

Then there was the time in the 80’s when Terry and Ania were building their home on the family farm yard. They were sheeting in the frame that day and their contractor built scaffolding but didn’t quite secure them properly. Edward happened to come for a drive to see the progress and decided that he’d stay and help out. There were 6 of them on the very top of the scaffolding...Terry, Edward, Julien, Johnny, Zolie and the contractor. Next thing you know, the scaffolding toppled down to the ground from under them and everyone was pretty banged up…except Edward who managed to walk away without a scratch. He picked himself up, ran to his vehicle, grabbed his medical bag and patched everyone up and they all went right back to work as if nothing happened.

Inadvertently one day in 2005 Uncle Ed taught Devin an important lesson about the art of negotiation. A skill I believe he learned from being on the farm all those years.

It was an extremely snowy winter and Devin decided that he needed a Bobcat to clear snow at his business. So he called up Bobcat Brad and told him what he wanted and all the accessories including a set of floater tires. The catch was that Devin needed it the next day. He said he could deliver on everything except the tires but then told Devin to give him a few minutes. He called back and told Devin that he got him a set of tires. He had to steal them off a new Bobcat that a local Dr. had been dealing on for quite some time but just hadn’t pulled the trigger. He may have used the word frugal or something like that to describe said Dr. Well the next day it got delivered and Devin’s father in law Terry came by to see it. Terry proceeded to tell Devinhow his Brother Edward was buying one as well but he had to wait a couple weeks because the buggers sold the tires off of it.

Thank you all for bearing with me – before I close I would like to share with you a passage (that I’ve paraphrased) which I feel very accurately describes uncle Ed and what I perceive to be his beliefs, his outlook on life and the way he actually lived his life:

He was a man who quietly and modestly moved in the sphere of his life; almost without blemish, he fulfilled his duty as a man, a subject, a husband and a father; he was pious without hypocrisy, benevolent without ostentation and aided his fellow man without self interest; his heart beat warm for friendship and his serene mind was open for licensed pleasures; in trying and difficult times, he did not despair, nor in fortune was he presumptuous, and he was always resolute in the hour of danger;

He was a severe judge towards himself, yet he was tolerant with the shortcomings of his neighbor; he endeavored to oppose errors without arrogance, and promoted intelligence without impatience; he properly understood how to estimate and employ his means; he honored virtue and did not favor vice;

Without courting applause, he was loved by all noble minded people, respected by his superiors and revered by his subordinates; he never proclaimed what he had done, could or would do, but where need was required he laid hold with courage, resolution, tireless exertion and a rare power of mind, and did not cease until he had accomplished his work, and then, without pretension, he retired into the multitude because he did a good act, not for himself, but for the cause of good.

My kids got me a coffee mug a few years ago for Father’s Day that says on it “Dad, not all superheroes wear capes” And no, they definitely don’t…they fly red Piper Comanche airplanes. At least my superhero does. Fly safe Uncle Ed.

* * * * * * * * * *

With broken hearts we announce the passing of Dr. Edward Nykiforuk – or “Dr. Ed” as his patients so lovingly called him. He was a highly respected doctor, and a loved man who touched the hearts of many. We all mourn his loss deeply. There will never be another like him. He was a Saskatchewan man through and through. Ed was predeceased by his first wife Helen. He remarried his second wife Heather and his life was whole once again.

He was a wonderful father to his three children, Wanda Burbridge (Brent), Ross Nykiforuk (Tami) ,Lynne Mondue (Duane), Heather’s two children Kelly Stam and Robin Krilyk, and grandfather to Jeremy, Meagan and Connor Burbridge, Eric Nykiforuk, and Heather Snare.

Ed loved spending time at the Steep Creek farm with his brothers Julien, John and Terry - and visiting his sister Diana in Prince Albert.

The family would like to thank their friends for prayer and support. Thank you to the caring staff at St Paul’s Hospital.