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STEPHEN CECIL PCHAJEK JR.
Born: Apr 25, 1935
Date of Passing: Apr 25, 2010
Send Flowers to the Family Offer Condolences or MemorySTEPHEN CECIL PCHAJEK JR. On Sunday, April 25, 2010, at the age of 74, Steve passed away at home in the arms of his wife of 53 years, Joan. He is survived by Joan (Beech), and his five children, Stephen W. Pchajek (Darolyn), Sharon Pchajek (Maureen Pendergast), Selina Barber (Ken) of Bolton, Ontario, Shawn Pchajek (Masami Ohori) of Yokahama, Japan and Sherri Pchajek (Timothy Vanderstel), as well as eight grandchildren. Born June 26, 1935 in Winnipeg, Steve was the eldest of 11 children, and will be keenly missed by his nine surviving brothers and sisters and their families (including dozens of nieces and nephews) and by Joan's sister and her two brothers and their families. While still in high school, Steve soloed in flight with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. After high school, he trained in Autobody Repair, and was certified in 1955. One summer day in 1956, he was reading a book on Grand Beach when a girl who had taken the Moonlight Special train up the night before walked by, and commented to her friend, that's the man I'm going to marry!. Joan's friend introduced her, and when Steve walked her back to her hotel, it began a romance that lasted over half a century. After almost a year of house parties, dances at Jack's Place and the Copacabana, late nights at Harry Smith's Club Morocco, and lunch dates between shift change at The Wagon Wheel for a clubhouse, Steve and Joan were married on June 29, 1957. Their first apartment became crowded with son Stephen and daughter Sharon, and soon after Steve got their first house on Hart Avenue in Elmwood. Then came Selina, Shawn and Sherri, and it was time for more room. In 1975, Steve fulfilled his dream of moving to the country by buying a farm in Meadows which was close enough to commute to his city job. Somehow, he found time to use his expert-level carpentry skills to build their dream house on the land, with the help of his father and two brothers. Steve continued to build beautiful things well into his 60s, including houses with his father in Ear Falls, Ontario and cottage additions with his daughter and daughter-in-law along the Winnipeg River. Steve loved country life, nursing his trees and gardens from new plantings. From seeding to harvest, he lived his life in the rhythm of the land. Whether it was curling in Rosser, or heading one of the community hall's work groups, Steve had a deep connection to his community that was warmly returned by his friends and neighbours. Steve had a lively mind, a mischievous wit, and a bedrock sense of justice and fair play. His life was particularly enriched by his eight grandchildren, who loved going to the farm to be with their Grandpa/Papa. And always there to anchor him, was Joan. A potluck supper to mark his passing will be held at the Meadows Hall on Saturday, May 1, 2010, starting at 6:30 p.m. MacKenzie Funeral Home in Stonewall, Manitoba in care of arrangements.
As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Apr 28, 2010
Condolences & Memories (1 entries)
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RECENT THOUGHTS AND LETTING GO .. ... The Passing of my Father: My Dad: Stephen Cecil Pchajek Jr. 26 June 1935 - 25 April 2010 - Still just one thought away. As the people who know me need no explanation of my ways, I feel no need to share fully the loss I feel. Instead, I will simply share a story of Awakening as well as a portion of a newspaper clipping my mother gave my father and then passed on to me when he was struggling with my “normality” vs. his. I believe he did the best he could to maintain most of these attributes for the remainder of his life. I have kept this article all this time, now 21 years. My father was a good, honest man who loved each of his children dearly, and did his best to give us all he could. That was enough for me. He will be missed for a very long time by all of us. He died in the arms of my mother, knowing his entire family loved and cared deeply about him. The article below: From the Winnipeg Free Press - Saturday, February 9, 1991 Originally written by a grade 10 student for his father. ‘GOOD DAD’ List of Attributes: Attributes of a Good Father: - Listen to both sides of an argument and respect the opinions of the other person. - Accept the fact that every child doesn’t have to be “normal”. - Don’t always judge by actions. Consider the motives behind them. - Work to increase strengths in the relationship, as well as improve the weaknesses. - Don't be overly protective. - Consider the harshness of the punishment as compared with the seriousness of the “crime”. - Recognize that teen’s want to be treated like an adult. - Emphasize good points instead of dwelling on the bad. - Don’t push a child into doing things he doesn’t want to do simply because the father would like to do them himself. - Realize not everyone has the same abilities and the same ideas of what’s important. Upon further reflection, I find this rather timely: Zen - Teaching of Instantaneous Awakening; by Master Hui Hai “How vast indeed my present state of mind– My wordless unconcern ensures its calm. At ease and free, my liberation won, I roam at will without impediment In wordless silence all my days are passed, My every thought fixed on the noumenal. In gazing on the Way, I am at ease And unaffected by samsara's round. So marvelous my present state of mind, I need intrude no longer on the world, Where splendor is illusion and a cheat; The simplest clothes and coarsest food suffice. On meeting worldly men, I scarcely speak, And so they say that I am dull of wit. Without, I have what seems a dullard's stare; Within, my crystal clarity of mind Soundlessly tallies with Rahul's hidden way Which worldly folk like you have yet to learn.” - Posted by: Shawn W. Pchajek (Son) on: Jan 10, 2012