Raymond James Kohut

Raymond James Kohut was born on April 3rd, 1936 to Roman and Mary Kohut. He began his life on the original homestead southwest of Hafford, Saskatchewan. Raymond was the youngest of seven children. His older brothers and sisters Mike, Anne, Alex, Rose and Leon were quite a bit older and left home when Raymond was quite young. Remaining with him at home was his slightly older sister Jeannette. The two of them attended Roseberry School together until Raymond was fifteen, when he quit school to help out his father with their mixed farming operation, which he has continued to do until the very end.

Raymond married Frances Zaichkowski on August 14th, 1965. They welcomed their first child Lorraine Marie in 1966 and their second child James Raymond was born in 1969. As a young man Raymond enjoyed music, he was a guitar player in a band called the 5 Aces, as well as performing with various other bands. This love of music continued his whole life through as Raymond played the guitar or accordion and sang at many of our family parties. Party Doll was a favourite of his! In his later years, Raymond enjoyed listening to the Old Time Dance Party on CJWW and would play along with his guitar.

No matter how busy the farm may have been, Raymond would often take a break to take his family camping. They enjoyed fishing and went to various lakes across Saskatchewan. Their trips to La Ronge were probably their favourite. In addition to being a farmer, Raymond was also a television and electronics technician. He received his diploma in 1958 from the television and electronics institute in Toronto. Raymond was also a skilled welder and was a very mechanically inclined, which were huge assets to the farm. Raymond could patch any piece of equipment and get it right back in the field in no time. Many of his neighbours would come for his expertise and he was always willing to help.

A couple little known facts about Raymond, he was really good with a sewing machine, Fran always said that he could replace the zipper in a skidoo suit better than anyone she knew! His other interest was cooking, when he was younger he liked to watch “Wok With Yan” and would often replicate the recipes he saw on TV, for Fran and the kids with great success. Over the years he has kept this skills sharp. In the last few years he made dinner for Jim and Keenan every day when they came to work at the farm. Raymond was also a wonderful Gido, he loved his five grandchildren Brennan, Keenan, Arynn, Vince and Leah and would entertain them with stories from the olden days and of course songs. In addition, Raymond enjoyed being an uncle and was always happy when his nieces and nephews came to visit. On August 2nd, 2015, Raymond’s life changed dramatically with the death of his loving wife Fran, but despite the loss, Raymond kept a positive attitude. The visits and calls from all his family and friends helped him get through. Raymond loved having company and welcomed everyone who stopped by with a beer or a shot, even the hutterites who came selling chickens. He always kept a supply of Canadian beer and chips Just in in case.

Raymond will be dearly missed by all who knew him.