Obituary of Pete Filarczuk

Mr. Pete Filarczuk of the Ituna Pioneer Lodge, beloved husband of Pat Filarczuk passed away on Friday, April 13th, 2018 at the age of 87 years. A private family service will be held. Pete was born on May 17, 1930 in Lviv, Poland to Anna and Jacob Filarchuk. In the fall of 1936, he and his parents travelled by ship to Canada. He grew up in the Tullymet area acting as a translator for his family as Ukrainian was their dominant language. In 1947, Pete travelled to Ontario. Here he explored a variety of jobs including working at a bowling alley, helping at a relative's tomato farm and working at a paper mill. He returned home to help on the family farm where they built a new house and shop before his next adventure… which was Vancouver. He worked on the railroad and studied a Telegraphy Course (Morse code). This took him to one of his favourite locations which was Salmon Arm, BC working for CP Rail. After his time with the railroad, he ventured back to Vancouver where he met his wife of 61 years, Patricia Hobel. They were married June 23, 1956 in Vancouver. After a few years working for a transport company, he convinced his wife to move to Saskatchewan to start a mink ranch. Having seen life in the city, he soon set out to modernize his parents' rural home with indoor plumbing and modern electrical appliances. He built a basement suite for him and his wife while his parents lived upstairs. Pete always had a natural talent for carpentry and construction and was a jack of all trades. He was self taught in all aspects of building from rough framing to finish carpentry, from brick laying to plumbing and electrical. His family became his next priority, therefore, after 3 boys, the basement suite was outgrown so he obtained his first quarter of land and began building. He built a new house in 1963 and soon after the family grew to four boys, Dennis, David, Don and Doug and a daughter, Diane. With Pat by his side, he worked long hours to support his growing family, by continuing to drive a school bus, building custom cabinets and homes, and while being in partnership with his brother Tom, he spent many hours on a dozer clearing land. This lead to obtaining additional farm land in exchange for his carpentry skills; thus, his own farm was started. With the help from his children, he built a bigger home, expanded into hogs, a grain cleaning business and cattle. His passion for building continued as he not only constructed all the buildings on the farm, but also, he built many houses in Ituna and district. To fulfill another of his desires, he and his wife operated a motel in Swan River for a short time before purchasing the Ituna Motel. Here, he not only maintained the inn keeper's duties, but he never could leave behind his desire for carpentry as he was constantly fixing and upgrading the facility. Eventually, that dream waned and he and Pat moved back to the farm for a more peaceful life. Here he took on a secondary role as gopher, did parts runs and helped moved machinery. Over time his abilities diminished and eventually, Pete was admitted to the lodge in May of 2017 where he will be fondly remembered for his threatening crooked finger. His family will always remember his ambition, avid debates and ability to fix things. He had a lifelong interest in flying, went on numerous vacations, bantered with his grandchildren but most all wanted his family near. Pete is predeceased by his grandfather Ewdokim, and parents, Jacob and Anne Filarchuk. Memories are shared by his wife, Patricia, sons, Dennis (Louise) and their children, Jonathan, Jodi, and Jeremy, David (Jane) and their sons Darren and Layton, Don, Doug and daughter Diane, brother Tom (Pia), their sons Sam (Karen) and family & Leon, and sister Mary (Bill) and their children Sue, Theo & Jane and their spouses and children. Interment Details Ituna Town Cemetery