Elsie Jean Nakonechny

Elsie was born in Weirdale, Sk, to Nettie (Boyechko) & Nick Panchuk, followed by siblings Marie & Johnny, her favorite playmates. She attended school in Weirdale & Meath Park, with lifelong friend Mary (Stanowich) Podhorodecki & dear cousin Beatrice (Zaparaniuk) Denesyk. The family attended Orthodox church faithfully & the children took Ukrainian classes & dance lessons. Above softball, biking, & movies, Elsie's passion was music; their house was continually filled with her singing.

Elsie worked from youth, cleaning houses, babysitting, & giving perms. As teens, she & Marie attended every dance, taught the boys to jive, and rarely sat one out. At age 17, Elsie met the love of her life, Joe, at a dance. Smitten, they became a couple instantly. Elsie left school to help her family; when they moved to P.A, she worked in a hotel, then at Burns' Meats.

She & Joe married in 62 & moved to Foxford, Joe's home district. They farmed with his brothers & bought land at Choiceland. Daughters Valerie & Connie arrived in 64 & 65. In 67, they bought a quarter near Choiceland with a "free" house - with running water! Jennifer arrived two months later. Elsie grew a huge garden & preserved produce for winters. She expertly prepared Joe's hauls of pickerel & the game he hunted, baked on an industrial scale, & we flourished. Although poor, we ate like royalty. Mom spun butter into gold; her cinnamon buns, donuts, & pizza in our lunches were the envy of classmates.

Our parents were avid, generous community members, but above all, Elsie was a homebody who dutifully cared for family, pets, & home. When Joe retired in 77 from the dehy plant, we got a camper for weekends at Candle Lake. In winter they enjoyed dances at the Elks Hall, curling bonspiels & "smokers" at the communities along Hwy 55. Elsie & Joe enjoyed a second honeymoon as their daughters grew up & left for Saskatoon.

Sadly, Elsie developed autoimmune hepatitis in 86 & was ill for years. Joe was devoted to her care, cooking, vacuuming, & drying dishes alongside her. As even the scent of smoke made Elsie sick, Joe wordlessly put away his 30-year pipe habit, never smoking again. In 92 they welcomed their beloved grandson, Jen's son Brock, & visited Saskatoon frequently. Rarely was a photo taken of Brock without Elsie or Joe.

Joe died tragically in a snowmobile accident in 94, shattering their idyllic farm life. Following his wise advice, she sold the house & tearfully left for P.A. She bravely mastered city driving, then, prompted by her small granddaughter Cassidy ("Baba, when you coming to seeee us?") she bought a condo in Saskatoon to be with Brock, Cassidy, & her baby brother Jackson. There was never a more devoted grandmother. Four days a week for 11 years, she made hot lunches at Cassidy & Jackson's house & fed dessert to the friends who brown-bagged it with them. To all, she was "Baba," 'Bob" for short.

On weekends, though, Saskatoon's singles dances & polka fests were never the same. As in her youth, Elsie never sat one out, as her calves of steel evidenced. She was a force of nature, shopping a pink streak, flying to Hawaii & Vegas, & taking up square dancing & golfing in her 50s. Though she had companions, no one could fill Joe's size 13s, so she remained single, devoted to family. We joke that Cassidy & Jackson are built of Baba's mashed potatoes, noodles & cheese, & perogies. It takes a village to raise a child, & our village in Lakeridge had Baba at its core.

As her health declined, Elsie moved to Ilarion seniors' village. She enjoyed new friends & the staff's loving care. Given a prognosis of six to 24 months, she persevered for five years, unwilling to leave us. She spent her last days in St Paul's palliative unit, where she faithfully phoned her dear friends & bid her family farewell. She passed from this earth with Val & Connie at her side.

Elsie leaves to treasure her memory her daughters & their families: Val & Dave Welygan, grandchildren Cassidy & fiancé Trevor Atamanenko & Jackson & girlfriend Shanna Olshanoski; Connie; Jennifer & grandson Brock Weber; sister Marie Tubman, her children Peggy & Rick; brother & sister-in-law John & Mary Panchuk, their children, goddaughter Shelley (Don) Hlewka & Devin (Amber) Panchuk; & Joe's loving family: Helen Beskorwayne & partner Harold Smith, Liz & Stanley Korol, Leonard & Yvonne Nakonechny, Olga & Roger Godin, Lena & Merv Wourms, Tony Nakonechny, many cousins, nieces, nephews & their families. She treasured the friendship of several chosen "sisters", including Olga Korol & Elsie's goddaughter Sharon Korol; Mary Podhorodecki, Virginia Fenrich, Rosie Slonski, & Dorothy Coquet.

She was predeceased by her beloved Joe; their parents; nieces Nicole Nakonechny & Denae Lawrence; brothers-in-law Paul Beskorwayne, Alex Nakonechny & Ted Tubman; sister-in-law Ruby Nakonechny, & lifelong friend Deanna Debler.

Lieu flowers, we welcome donations to the Canadian Liver Foundation (www.liver.ca) & Palliative Unit of St. Paul's Hospital Foundation (www.stpaulshospital.org) Ph.(306)655-5821. There will be a private ceremony in Prince Albert.

"And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love." - 1 Cor. 13:13