Obituary for Alexander Kohut
Alexander (Alex) Kohut
Our father, Alexander (Alex) Kohut, better known as Sandy to his twelve brothers and sisters, took ill on December 13, 2018; passing peacefully the following day at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, MB.
Dad had just celebrated his 97th birthday on October 2, 2018 at Chez Nous, his new residence of two months. He was one of thirteen first generation Canadians born to Steve & Mary (nee Winnicki) Kohut – Ukrainian immigrants settling near the town of Rosa, in the R.M. of Franklin, MB. On the family’s first homestead, dad learned to work the land and plant gardens. This pioneer experience paved the way to a successful landscaping business; which he started several years after serving 3 years with the Canadian Infantry during the Second World War. We never heard Dad talk about his military experience, but our mother, Polly (nee Kucharski) always had Dad’s military photo in a place of honour in the room they shared in our first home on Margaret Avenue and second home on Grey Street.
After our mother’s passing and just before retirement, Dad married Edith Jean Anderson. Together, they followed their dreams of visiting their ancestral homes of Scotland and the Ukraine, cruising, and visiting family and friends in Canada, the United States and Holland. Dad returned to Grey Street after Edith’s passing. This past summer, recognizing his need for more care, Dad requested placement in supportive housing. On October 1, 2018, Dad moved to an apartment in Chez Nous Supportive Housing, situated across from the St. Boniface Cathedral. Dad was pleased to be living in his own apartment knowing that staff was available anytime he needed assistance.
With his passing, our father is now reunited with his parents Steve & Mary, our mother Polly, his second wife Edith, and siblings Bill, Mike, Olga (Lazarenko), Helen (Cavadini), Nancy (Rinkel), & Victoria (Stull); leaving brothers Nestor & Joe, and sisters Nellie (Didora), Sonia (Vincent), Margaret (Yestrau), & Audrey (Hladun) and daughters Barbara Balsillie, Linda Kohut & Norma Loney to uphold family traditions and tell the Kohut family story.
A granite bench has been commissioned to thank our pioneer families for the lifestyle, rights & freedoms we, as Canadians, enjoy today. The bench will be placed at the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre in Île-des-Chênes, MB between the first two Mb communities Dad’s family once called home - Rosa and Prairie Grove.
Dad was always willing to share his boyhood stories and take his grandchildren to a green place to laugh and play. When unveiled, the Haven becomes a destination site for Dad’s grandchildren Sheila Bracko & Dean Balsillie of Calgary AB, Steven & Michael Loney of Winnipeg MB & Master CPL Craig Loney of Victoria, BC to honour the tradition with their children Anson, Ariel, Clea, Dylann, Christian, Etienne, Ella & Tyler.
“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.”
Our father, Alexander (Alex) Kohut, better known as Sandy to his twelve brothers and sisters, took ill on December 13, 2018; passing peacefully the following day at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg, MB.
Dad had just celebrated his 97th birthday on October 2, 2018 at Chez Nous, his new residence of two months. He was one of thirteen first generation Canadians born to Steve & Mary (nee Winnicki) Kohut – Ukrainian immigrants settling near the town of Rosa, in the R.M. of Franklin, MB. On the family’s first homestead, dad learned to work the land and plant gardens. This pioneer experience paved the way to a successful landscaping business; which he started several years after serving 3 years with the Canadian Infantry during the Second World War. We never heard Dad talk about his military experience, but our mother, Polly (nee Kucharski) always had Dad’s military photo in a place of honour in the room they shared in our first home on Margaret Avenue and second home on Grey Street.
After our mother’s passing and just before retirement, Dad married Edith Jean Anderson. Together, they followed their dreams of visiting their ancestral homes of Scotland and the Ukraine, cruising, and visiting family and friends in Canada, the United States and Holland. Dad returned to Grey Street after Edith’s passing. This past summer, recognizing his need for more care, Dad requested placement in supportive housing. On October 1, 2018, Dad moved to an apartment in Chez Nous Supportive Housing, situated across from the St. Boniface Cathedral. Dad was pleased to be living in his own apartment knowing that staff was available anytime he needed assistance.
With his passing, our father is now reunited with his parents Steve & Mary, our mother Polly, his second wife Edith, and siblings Bill, Mike, Olga (Lazarenko), Helen (Cavadini), Nancy (Rinkel), & Victoria (Stull); leaving brothers Nestor & Joe, and sisters Nellie (Didora), Sonia (Vincent), Margaret (Yestrau), & Audrey (Hladun) and daughters Barbara Balsillie, Linda Kohut & Norma Loney to uphold family traditions and tell the Kohut family story.
A granite bench has been commissioned to thank our pioneer families for the lifestyle, rights & freedoms we, as Canadians, enjoy today. The bench will be placed at the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre in Île-des-Chênes, MB between the first two Mb communities Dad’s family once called home - Rosa and Prairie Grove.
Dad was always willing to share his boyhood stories and take his grandchildren to a green place to laugh and play. When unveiled, the Haven becomes a destination site for Dad’s grandchildren Sheila Bracko & Dean Balsillie of Calgary AB, Steven & Michael Loney of Winnipeg MB & Master CPL Craig Loney of Victoria, BC to honour the tradition with their children Anson, Ariel, Clea, Dylann, Christian, Etienne, Ella & Tyler.
“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.”