John BILOWUS

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BILOWUS: John Bilowus passed away peacefully during the early morning hours of Saturday, November 27, 2010 at the Assiniboine Centre in Brandon, Manitoba. He had suffered a stroke March 21, 2010 and after many complications, he succumbed to pneumonia. John was born on September 18, 1925 on a farm near Gorlitz, SK. When he was seven, his family moved to Yorkton, Saskatchewan where he received his education. He worked at many occupations during his lifetime. He was a ticket agent in the Yorkton bus depot for Clark Transportation and Greyhound Bus Companies. He also operated a taxi service until he joined the Army in 1944. He went overseas the same year serving in England, and N.W. Europe. When the war ended, he stayed in Germany until 1946 with the occupational forces. Upon his discharge in 1946, he joined his three brothers in Swan River, Manitoba to operate a grocery store and bakery. Later, they opened the first self-serve grocery store in Swan River. On May 24, 1951, John married Ruth Belton of Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. They were happily married for 59 years. After selling the grocery and bakery, John operated an Olivetti-Underwood dealership in Swan River under the name of Bilowus Business Machines Ltd. The firm covered a territory south to Dauphin, Russell and Roblin and north to The Pas, Flin Flon, Lynn Lake, Snow Lake and Thompson. During this time, he was appointed Lottery Ticket Distributor covering the Dauphin, Roblin, Swan River areas. After selling his business, he was appointed a Sales Supervisor for the Manitoba Lottery Foundation, covering the Parkland, Westman and part of Eastman areas. John was then transferred to Brandon to open a Lottery Office. He continued his position with the added responsibility of managing the office, until he retired in March of 1989. John was a member of the United Church – St. Andrews in Swan River and later Trinity in Brandon. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 60 years. He was very active in sports having played hockey, golf, ball, bowling and horseshoes and he coached hockey and bowling at a competitive level. In his later years, he enjoyed Senior’s Slo-Pitch travelling to many centers for tournaments. The last few years he enjoyed curling with the men’s seniors at the Brandon Club. Throughout his lifetime, he coached midget hockey teams, little league baseball, men’s senior fast-ball and high school five-pin bowling. An avid sports fan, he was ever faithful to his San Francisco Giants, Toronto Maples Leafs and Saskatchewan Roughriders down through the years. John and Ruth traveled extensively across Canada, Europe, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Tangiers. They cruised the Caribbean and the Inside Passage. He was predeceased by his father in 1946, sister Ann in 1963, sisters Mary and Agnes in 1968, his mother in 1969, brother Mike in 1977, brothers George and Tom in 1993 and sister Lena in 1998. Surviving are his wife Ruth, two daughters, Hope (Gary) Shotbolt of Brandon, Debra (Doug) Swanson of Thunder Bay, three grandchildren Christopher Wiebe (Samantha) of Portage la Prairie, Brittany Swanson of Thunder Bay, Nicholas Shotbolt of Brandon and two great granddaughters Emma and Rylee Wiebe of Portage la Prairie. Also surviving are many nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service was held at Trinity United Church on Friday, December 10, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Wayne Sanderson officiating. Interment will be in the family plot at Brandon Cemetery, sometime in 2011. Donations in memory of John may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Manitoba, Unit 3, 824 – 18th Street, Brandon, MB R7A 5B7 or the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 2 Carlton Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5B 1J3 or Trinity United Church, “Memorial Fund”, 1515 – 6th Street, Brandon, Manitoba, R7A 6B3.Messages of condolence may be placed at www.brockiedonovan.com.

As published in Brandon Sun on Dec 11, 2010