John Buba

John is survived by his wife, Mary; his children, Larry, Brenda (Dan), and Corinna; his grandchildren, Dayna (Joey), Nicole, Ashley, Tyler (Brianna), Jordan, and Jamie (Brock); his great-grandsons, Jack and Boston; his brother, Steve; his sister, Mary along with numerous relatives and friends.

John was predeceased by his parents, Andrew and Katherine and his brother, Bill.

John was born in Myrnam, Alberta, on April 19th, 1940. His family later moved to Prince George, BC. It was in Prince George that he met his wife, Mary, and started his family. He worked for CN railway for 37 years in various roles (at retirement as a technical officer, Car Division, Edmonton), during which time he and his family relocated to Prince Rupert, BC. and later Edmonton, AB.

After retiring, John took up farming near Spruce Grove, Alberta. He enjoyed his time on his farm, raising cattle, chickens, sheep, goats and numerous other farm animals over the years. John was also an avid gardener and could always be counted on to provide gardening tips to his children and grandchildren. John was able to spend his last days on his beloved farm with his animals, for which his family is very grateful.

The family would like to thank the staff at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute for their care and compassion.

A private family graveside service will be held on Friday, February 19, 2021.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the University Hospital Foundation, Donor Office, Room 1H1.91, WMC, 8440 – 112 Street, NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7.

Eulogy - written by Dan Leskiw (son-in-law)

John Buba was born April 19, 1940 in Myrnam, Alberta; the first child of Andrew and Katherine Buba. He had three siblings: Steve, Mary and Bill. He leaves his wife of 61 years, Mary and three children: Larry, Brenda and Corinna. He also leaves six grandchildren: Dayna, Nicole, Ashley, Tyler, Jordan and Jamie, and two great grandchildren Jack and Boston. He passed away on February 12, 2021 at the age of 80 years.

John never wanted to live in a city, and was most happy about finally settling in the Spruce Grove area, first on an acreage, and then on his beloved farm. Once on the acreage he began to live a double life, as a railroader and a hobby farmer. When I began dating Brenda, I was told, not so gently, to hide this other part of his life, and never tell anyone from work he had cattle. This provides us with one of the many examples of John not only being a very private person, but also as a man that enjoyed simple pleasures. He enjoyed getting home, getting out of a suit, and into something where he could get his hands, and the rest of him, dirty. There were always two welcomes from John, one a distanced one when he just came in from working on the farm, and the second, involving a hug or handshake once he was cleaned up. Of course, the definition of clean was questionable at times, as soap was a technology John used at his discretion, something we will laugh about for years to come.

John’s father was an immigrant to Canada and after first landing in Alberta became a railroader for the Canadian National Railway. This led to a move of his wife and infant son John first to McBride, BC and then to Prince George. John followed his father’s lead joining the CN at the age of 16 in Prince George working in the freight yards, and over his career had many job descriptions including management in the areas of train cars repair at the Calder Yards (Edmonton) and the movement of freight along the Edmonton to Prince Rupert corridor. As his jobs changed, he was asked to move, working in Prince George, Prince Rupert, and Edmonton. Upon returning to his prairie roots, despite career implications, he adamantly refused all of the transfer opportunities offered to him. He was back home and just never wanted to leave again. Through his work he travelled across North America to conferences and meetings, and most often into the Rocky Mountain region to work on derailments. Because he started his work career so early, John was able to take early retirement at the tender age of 53, to finally expose his alternate life and farm full-time.

John embraced farming and the farming lifestyle with a passion. Initially focusing on cattle and chickens, he also raised goats, sheep, geese, ducks, pheasants and turkeys, the turkeys being the most brief venture, as they were wild turkeys and flew away the very first night.

With farming there was always more than enough to keep John occupied. On top of tending to the animals, there was all the equipment and tools he had, and keeping track of all the jobs that needed to be done. Through these demands we became exposed to John’s unique way of organizing and remembering. Hating to waste steps getting the wrong tool, or not having all the parts in the right place, we came to understand the importance of each pile in the shop, with each created from the remains of a once-working lawnmower, trimmer, engine, etc. And we will be forever reminded of his presence by the millions of notes made in sharpie pen on just about everything he touched.

Some of the other simple pleasures that John enjoyed are summed up in his most famous “Dadisms”:

“Good shoes and a good bed, because you spend most of your day in those two things.”

“Always have a good breakfast, since you never know when your next meal will be.”

And through his lens of simple pleasures we can all remember him doing the following:

• Passing judgement on the quality of an event by how good the food was.

• Choosing the no-power options for windows, mirrors and door locks in his latest truck.

• Watching the setting sun - as I recall many evenings sitting on the porch with him refusing to go inside until it was dark.

John was reluctant to leave the farm, but found great enjoyment in travelling, as long as there was a purpose to it. Once at his destination, his curiosity and love of talking with locals was apparent. The first big trip John took was with Mary and Corinna to visit England. He loved the opportunity to travel by rail both locally and at high speed to Scotland, making sure to visit the UK’s National Rail museum in York. There I found out his whole reason for joining CN was to become an locomotive engineer, but when they switched from coal to diesel, his opportunity was lost. The most ambitious of their trips was to Australia where after a small struggle with telephones, he was impressed with the water collection and conservation systems he saw on the farms he and Mary visited. His last big trip was undoubtedly his favourite, to Big Time Fishing Lodge, in B.C. , where he combined his purpose of catching fish with his greater joy of eating it.

John could appear to be gruff at first, but soon displayed his soft and caring side. Brenda and Corinna remember how quickly he became the first one to cry before walking each of them down the aisle in their wedding ceremonies. He always wanted the company of a dog, regardless of how erratic their behaviour. The ones I can list are: Rusty - the trustworthy, Mindy - the tripper, Pete - the protector, Lady - the window destroyer, Abby - the bird killer, Sparky - the energetic, Tina - the cuddler, Amy - the terrible herder (went for the wrong end), and his final dog Lizzie. As he told Brenda, “I just look and see all the love in Lizzie’s eyes when she is sitting with me in the Suzuki and it brings tears to my eyes.”

For all of us, in some way, John was the person you turned to when there was something you needed, or something you needed to be done. For Brenda and I, he spent countless hours at our houses doing electrical wiring and plumbing. He was always the first to offer the use of whatever equipment he had for whatever task we had overcommitted ourselves to. I am sure all of you also have examples, so it is important to add generosity as one of his traits. He was also generous with his thoughts, which at times could be strong opinions. We can all recall his opinions about politics, chemicals, good food, nutritional balance, winter clothing and the best type of pillow. Most notable was his safety advice, much of which was learned from his life experience whether at work, or from making plenty of mistakes on his own.

I wish to thank Mary, Larry, Brenda and Corinna and the rest of the family for giving me the opportunity to share these words about John. For me, he was endlessly patient and thankful for my meagre and bumbling efforts to help him around the farm. I am thankful for the time I had to get to know him and learn from him. Since he was in my life longer than my own father was, he provided me an outstanding example of how to be a father. Above all, he has provided me a grounded example of how to lead a well-lived, and a well-loved life.

May he rest in peace, and his memory be eternal.