IWAN (JOHN) FEDUS (published on January 16, 2010)
| IWAN (JOHN) FEDUS Peacefully on January 12, 2010, Iwan beloved husband of the late Tekla Fedus passed away at the Douglas Campbell Lodge at the age of 87 years. Funeral Mass will be held at the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at 10:30 a.m. Interment will follow at Hillside Cemetery. Iwan was predeceased by his parents in the Ukraine, Infant son in the Ukraine, and his beloved wife on May 3, 2008 and special friend and neighbour Peter Semchyshyn. He was also predeceased by his uncle and aunt Harry and Margaret Karmazyn. He is survived by family and friends in the Ukraine, close friend and neighbour Zennia Semchyshyn and family and a close family friend Sylvia Henderson. Iwan was born on March 6, 1922 in Markopil, Body, Ukraine, the only child of Samuel and Tekla Fedus. At age 19 he married his childhood sweetheart Tekla and they resided with his parents. By the age of 20 he left his wife and family and went to war. Years went by and the family received no word of Iwan's whereabouts. They did not know if he was alive or dead. The war ended and somehow Iwan ended up in England. We read that he received a Discharge from the army in 1949. Shortly afterwards he tried to immigrate to Canada. He was acquainted with his uncle and aunt in Portage la Prairie, Harry and Margaret Karmazyn. They welcomed him to come. He was originally sponsored by the Bill Ronald Farms, but never worked there. He finally arrived in Canada in November 1951. Iwan was able to find employment with the railroad. Later on he went to work at the Campbell Soup Plant in Portage, until he retired. Iwan promptly joined the Ukrainian Catholic Church, the Brotherhood Club, the choir and later the bingo committee. Iwan was blessed with a strong will and determination, (his wife called it stubbornness). He quickly started to write home, not knowing who may be alive or dead. He found out his wife was alive and well and had not remarried. He then started a long process to bring Tekla to Canada. It took years before Tekla was allowed to immigrate to Canada. Finally in 1978 she arrived in Canada and that year they were remarried. Iwan was blessed with good health, good sturdy body and a work ethic envied today. He loved to work. He was particular to details, especially his garden. You found no weeds in his garden, not even the back lane for he weeded it all by hand. He was kind, generous, and deeply sentimental, especially when he heard memories of family home in the Ukraine. You would see tears in his eyes. He sent many parcels of clothing and parcels of money to family in the Ukraine. He volunteered many years of service to his church, maintaining the inside and outside of the church and hall. He worked at Bingo at the Centennial Hall for years. Iwan exercised everyday; he would bike or walk up town as far as the Coop or supermarket. He never owned a car. He was able to continue his long walks right up to the last five years when his health started to slowly decline. Iwan, in his younger years was most gregarious (a party animal). He loved to get together, always a good drink of rye, song and dance; he used to love to dance! In the last three to four years, Iwan's health and memory were failing. Then in 2008 his beloved Tekla suddenly passed away and his new home became the Douglas Campbell Lodge, and his new friends became the nursing staff. He did not complain, except he said they couldn't cook like Tekla, no cabbage soup, perogies or cabbage rolls like at home. He also missed having conversations in Ukrainian. Iwan shall sadly be missed by his family in the Ukraine, his church community, friends, special friend and neighbour Zennia Semchyshyn and her family and Sylvia Henderson. Should friends desire, memorial donations may be in made in Iwan's name to the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption or the Douglas Campbell Lodge. A tribute DVD in memory of Iwan Fedus will be produced by the Omega Funeral Home. Condolences may be sent to the family care of Omega Funeral Home, 83 Royal Road South, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, R1N 1T8 or friends may leave a message of sympathy on our web site www.omegafuneralhome.com Dedicated to those we serve . |
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