JOSEPH (JOE) GERALD OMICHINSKI

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JOSEPH (JOE) GERALD OMICHINSKI On Tuesday, January 8, 2002 at the Portage District General Hospital, following a courageous battle with cancer, Joseph (Joe) Gerald Omichinski, devoted husband of Victoria (Vicki) and dedicated father of Mitchell and Maureen, passed away at the age of 85 years. Prayers will be held in the Chapel of the Omega Funeral Home on Friday, January 11 at 7:30 p.m. Funeral mass will be held in the Good Shepherd Parish Roman Catholic Church, 1125 Saskatchewan Ave. E. on Saturday, January 12 at 10:30 a.m. with the Rev. Fr. Wayne Morrissey officiating. Interment will follow in the family plot at Maple Grove Cemetery. Joe was born on September 24, 1916 son of Joseph and Catherina Omichinski at Ladywood, MB where he received his elementary education and later completed his education at Elm River. He then moved to Windsor, ON where he was employed with the Ford Motor Company at Detroit. In 1940 he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force and served in Canada until his discharge in 1945. The same year he married Vicki Uhutch and in 1946 they moved to the Oakville district where they farmed until their retirement in 1992. In 1996, they moved to reside in Portage la Prairie. Joe was in every way a self-made man. A hard worker with great determination, and was gifted with many organizational abilities and leadership talents. Joe was a member of the St. Hyacinths Roman Catholic Church and later the Good Shepherd Parish Roman Catholic Church. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus and a longtime member of the Canadian Legion branch #65. Over the years Joe was devoted to the community and its well being. For most of his life he actively and unrelentlessly sought to improve conditions of those living in the rural areas, serving as a councillor for the Portage la Prairie Municipal Council for nearly 40 years. Widely respected for his hard work and dedication, he was instrumental in ensuring the municipality has gravel roads, adequate drainage for farmlands, and was key in the development of the Assiniboine Diversion. Throughout his career on council, Joe represented the RM on many community boards and committees. In his later years he served with the Assiniboine Conservation Water Shed Board. Joe was also a member (26 years) and a longtime chair of the Portage and District General Hospital Board where he oversaw the hospitals central construction. Noted for his no nonsense honesty, keen business acumen, negotiating and management skills, Joe was also a director with the United Grain Growers Board, a position he held for 21 years until his retirement. With so much of his life devoted to farming and helping farmers, Joes seat with the Winnipeg Grain Exchange capped a full career. Predeceased by his father Joseph in 1953, his mother Catherina in 1969, four brothers, Bill and his wife Stella, Martin, Tony and his wife Jean, and Larry and his wife Marion; two sisters, Lee Lenoski and her husband John and Kay Stadnyk and her husband Leo; brother-in-law Andrew Swedick; and sister-in-law Isabele Omichinski. Joe leaves to mourn his passing and cherish his memory his wife of 57 years Vicki, son Mitchell (Mitch) and daughter-in-law Linda of rural Portage, daughter Maureen of Winnipeg. Also surviving are three brothers, Bernie (Mary) of Coquitlam, BC, Amie of Portage la Prairie, and Reg (Ivy) of Fort Saskatchewan, SK; sisters, Mary (Norman) Chase of Tsawwassen, BC, Sophie Swedick of Winnipeg, and Frances (Tim) Parynuick of Newton Siding; sister-in-law Olive Scottsdale, AZ; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. He will be missed by many in so many ways. He loved his friends, family and politics. The family wish to express their heartfelt appreciation to the "TCL" homecare services, nursing staff and doctors of the Portage and District General Hospital who closely cared for Dad. Should friends so desire, memorial donations may be made to the Portage and District Hospital Foundation, 524 Fifth St. SE, Portage la Prairie, MB, R1N 3A8 or to a charity of your choice. Funeral arrangements in care of the Omega Funeral Home. Friends may leave a message and sign the register book at our web site www.legacy.com "Where life stories live on."

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 10, 2002