Steve Skrepich

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Steve at the age of 94. Steve was predeceased by his beloved wife Mary in 2012 and daughter Elaine Holmes in 2015. He is survived by his sons Ralph (Trish) and Murray.

Dad was born in Libau, Manitoba on September 25, 1929 to Michael and Anna Skrepich. He grew up working the farm with his brothers Peter and Tony, and sister Helen. During the winter months Dad would work in bush camps falling trees and clearing brush where many memories were made.

He met Mary at a barn dance and they married in 1953, building a house and making a home in Selkirk. Elaine was the first born followed by Murray and Ralph. Family outings were plenty, taking trips to the U.S. for weekend shopping trips, as well as vacations to the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore, and Bemidji to see Paul Bunion and his ox Blue. Steve loved the outdoors and heading out after work on Friday with the camper and boat in tow to the Pine Falls lakes area for a weekend of fishing and fresh air, which seemed to happen every weekend. He also enjoyed fishing and hunting, be it moose, deer, geese or ducks.

In 1951 he got a job at the Manitoba Rolling Mill, (now Gerdau) in Selkirk where he was eventually promoted to melt shop supervisor. He had a long, loyal and rewarding 38 year career, 30 as the melt shop supervisor. He was always fair with the employees under his watch, giving them the benefit of the doubt and encouraging them to do their best. He retired from the mill in 1989.

Steve was known for smoking the big Cuban-type of cigars which were always part of the duty-free haul when returning from a U.S. trip. Cigarettes were also enjoyed by Dad then one day, he decided to quit smoking and he did, cold turkey.

He was a very patient man taking pride in everything he did. He was a skilled carpenter building houses, kitchen cupboards and even the slide-in truck camper used for fishing and camping trips. Setting the forms for the concrete driveway, mixing the concrete by hand and finally pouring it were all part of his skill set. And in the winter, snow didn’t stay on the driveway long before he was out shoveling it, no matter how little snow there may have been.

Although not trained in masonry, Dad did all the brickwork himself for the front of the house including many trips back and forth to the Pine Falls area selecting stones that would eventually be used on the house. Again, he exemplified patience and taking pride in a job well done.

The property Mom and Dad purchased in the RM of St. Clements in 1980 was well over 50% trees and bush. The enjoyment Dad got from working in the bush camps when he was younger was carried on as he continued going out cutting trees for the wood burning stove. The electric furnace was the secondary heat source if rarely, or ever was needed. The trials that were created because of this were bonus walking paths. Dad was very proud of the yard and the BIG garden he and Mary kept, he enjoyed spending many hours tending to both.

Memories were made with family trips to Mafeking, Manitoba to visit brother Tony and sister-in-law Caroline at the hotel they owned and, to brother Peter and sister-in-law Frances’s cabin at Patricia beach. Trips to Kenora visiting aunts, uncles and cousins also added to Dad’s enjoyment.

Steve and Mary enjoyed outings to try their luck at gambling, these included trips to the old Crystal Casino, Club Regent, South Beach and obviously Las Vegas.

Ralph has fond memories of Dad waking him up super-early on Saturday mornings to go the barn in Selkirk for hockey. Dad had breakfast already made which were “only” eggs, sausages and toast but they were the best breakfasts ever!

Family trips to the Half-Moon in Lockport which seemed like a weekly ritual for hot dogs and fries were happy outings.

Steve was also a big sports fan, watching any sport like tennis, football, curling with hockey and baseball topping the list. He played baseball in his younger years and curling as time went on.

Steve will be remembered as a wonderful father who knew how to fix anything, and he loved the occasional troubleshooting conversations with Ralph when they had coffee every Saturday morning. He enjoyed meeting new people and always had a kind word and a smile for everyone he met. If Dad met you, he remembered your name, first and last. Every story Dad told, whether it was from when he was a teenager or working at the mill, everyone had a first and last name.

Thank you to the wonderful staff at Middlechurch Home of Winnipeg for their kind and compassionate care of Dad, with special thanks to Patti and Marissa.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Steve’s memory to a charity of your choice.