My beautiful, beloved husband, Myron Warywoda, took his last breath on January 15, 2024. How do I begin to write the kind of tribute you deserve, my darling husband? Bear with me, reader. This is perhaps more of a love letter than an obituary, a necessary catharsis for me in my sorrow.
After 16 years of living with Parkinson’s Disease, you took back the control that the disease had slowly been robbing from you. You never complained, maintaining your smile and your sense of humour, even as you suffered so, so much this past year. Ultimately, however, you took back the control; and with the help of MAID, you decided the time, the place and the manner of your passing. And it was peaceful, painless and beautiful. All of us in your room were thankful to share the moment, a moment softened by music, prayers, tears and smiles, the pink rays of a magnificent sunset coming through your window to grace your passing. A beautiful farewell to a beautiful man!
Yours was a life well lived, my darling, happily, successfully. You were an amazing athlete, a star in so many sports. You were a well-loved PhysEd teacher for 35 years, and you coached high school teams every season of your career. Your students and your athletes loved you and respected you because you were a mentor, impacting their lives by recognizing their potential and their personal worth as individuals. As one young man said, “To me, he was an 8-foot giant, a really classy man!”
So many friends will miss you: your Selkirk and Westgate colleagues will have special memories; your golf buddies will recall the many rounds, the many trips; your fishing “buds” will remember May long weekends and long johns and pyroghies and garlic ( so much garlic!); the ski bums will remember Big Sky, Fernie, Banff; folks at the church will recall the leadership and your work ethic and the fun your “ crews” had making pyroghies or painting the church kitchen. So many memories, so many pictures, so many smiles!
And, of course, I must mention your dancing ability. A high-stepping Ukrainian Cossack, red boots and shiny “sharavara” flying high and entertaining at so many concerts and Ukrainian weddings. In fact, your dance prowess was the reason we were together! We were 17. The first time you took me in your arms to dance (it was an old-fashioned waltz), I was in love. We were a perfect fit, and we continued for 60 years to be a perfect fit. Ours truly is a love story.
But where you shone most brightly, my darling, was as a family man …. a father so loving, so involved, so determined to make each son’s life the best it could be: the junior football, soccer, hockey team experiences; camping/trailering for years; so many ski trips; each son getting his personal 16th birthday trip alone with Dad; backyard pool antics; fishing expeditions. Such fun, such joy, such special memories for our boys!
As much as our sons and “daughters” loved their Dad, your grandkids adored their fun-loving Gigi. You entertained laughing little ones with boisterous fun in the pool, created and taught them different versions of chess appropriate to their ages, and thrilled them with tubing behind the boat. And now, as young adults ages 16 to 23, they see you as a role model of courage, dependability, fun, grace, and dignity …. a Gigi who always put family first. As one said recently, “You were a rock for me all my life, Gigi.”
All of us, your family are bereft without your smiling presence. I (Pat), your sons Mark, Peter and David and their lovely wives Winnie, Michelle and Catherine Rose, and your amazing grandkids Jake, Lauryn, Noel, Meagan, Lynden, Tristan Warywoda and Deirdre and Gillian Rose already miss your humour and your hugs. Your brother Walter and sister-in-law Marika and your nieces Andrea and Larissa have shared their love with you and will feel a void with your passing, as will our always-there-when-you-need-him buddy George Chehowy and loving cousin Sandy Pivarnik who loved you like a brother.
My wonderful man, for 55 years of living, laughing and loving, you have been my light, my world, my rock, my only love, my best friend. The greatest joy and blessing of my life was sharing these past 55 years of it as your wife.
“Forget you? Never!
Love you? Forever!”
I miss you so, my love.
Cremation has taken place. At Myron’s request, there will be no service at this time. We look forward to a Celebration of Life gathering when the grass is green again because Myron did want his friends to reconnect, to get together for a party, to hoist a glass to him and to remember the wonders that have been our lives.
Condolences may be made through www.nwfainc.com
