Wayne Chester Knibbs

Wayne Chester Knibbs, late of Weyburn, passed away peacefully in Regina, with his family by his side on Saturday August 15, 2015 at the age of 79. He is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughters, Gailyn (Gerry) Dube, Sharla (Kim) Folk, Deannda (Kelly) Van de Sype and Daylee (Allan) Marr; grandchildren, Tyler (Melissa) Dube, Amber (Jason Lamble) Kotylak, Seth (Kristen Kitzul) Dube, Troy (Alyssa Driedger) Dube, Shane Van de Sype, Paige Van de Sype(Blake Benson), Steel Marr and Willow Marr; great grandchildren, Nicholas, Kase, and Hailey; siblings, Marilyn (Bobo) Cugnet and Donny (Loretta) Knibbs and sister-in-law, Betty Knibbs. Wayne Chester Knibbs was born July 22, 1936 in Huntoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He married Elaine Carol Dreger October 29, 1955 in Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Elaine was born June 5, 1937 in Lampman, Saskatchewan, Canada. Wayne and Elaine set up a home in Stoughton, Saskatchewan, where they planned to raise their family. Wayne worked various jobs which included carpentry, farming, mechanic and working for the R.M. He was a strong and knowledgeable man and decided to go work on drilling rigs. He travelled, with his family, by his side, throughout Saskatchewan, BC and Alberta. Wayne was the head Driller on the rig and worked hard and long to make a better life for his family. In doing so, he returned to Saskatchewan to settle back into working more with his hands. His talents for woodwork and mechanics took him to Weyburn, where he became the expert in repairing motorcycles and snowmobiles for the Co-op. He took his family to numerous campgrounds, tourist attractions, museums, threshing bees and tenting trips out to British Columbia. When he was a young man he had many hobbies one of which was to own and restoring old motorcycles. His knowledge and expertise expanded over the years to collecting and restoring other vintage items such as old stoves, bicycles, restoring furniture, cars, musical instruments (banjos were a passion). Wayne and Elaine were active bikers and spent many summers driving their Harley through Canada and the states with their best friends, Tom and Cheryl Bill, Bill and Myrna Wallin, Gene Cugnet and Luke Periard. Once Wayne and Elaine's daughters married and had their own children, the entire family (Wayne and Elaine, their daughters, spouses and children) continued their annual camping trips together and created loving memories traveling throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario campgrounds. Wayne would tell stories of his rigging days and share what meant the most to him, "HISTORY". He told numerous stories of the pioneer days and how his parents and ancestors struggled through the tough years of making a life on this new land. He furthered his focus on history, by collecting and restoring old furniture, instruments, tools, motors, stoves, appliances, etc and learning how they worked and the struggles Pioneer women and men endured. He kept stories alive from his ancestors on the Knibbs and Brown side of his family. He continued his work, by volunteering at the Weyburn Historical Museum board and was active in the museum events. Wayne and Elaine taught his daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren, what a person could do with their hands. They have all used that knowledge to build strong families, flourishing gardens, artistic hobbies, characteristic homes and good, strong personalities in their own children. Wayne and Elaine also endured many struggles in life. Their first child, Cheryl, was killed in a car accident at the age of a year and a half. Connie, their third child, was born with medical needs and lived in a special care home in Moose Jaw, until she passed away at age 15. Then Wayne and Elaine had twin sons, Warren and Wade who passed away shortly after birth. Wayne was predeceased by his parents, Arthur and Fern Knibbs; brother, Dale Knibbs, in-laws, Rudy and Hazel Dreger and then tragically, his grandchildren Dustin Ronald Knox and Chris Aaron Knox. A Funeral Service will be held Saturday, September 5, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. from Grace United Church, Weyburn, SK with Reverend M. Barnabas. Interment will follow at Green Acres Memorial Gardens, Weyburn, Saskatchewan. Donations in memory of Wayne Chester Knibbs may be made to the: Chris Knox Foundation at PO Box 3224, Regina, SK. S4P 3H1. Wayne will be greatly missed by his family, friends and the community.

Condolences may be left at:

www.fletcherfuneralchapel.com

Arrangements entrusted to

Fletcher Funeral Chapel

Weyburn, Saskatchewan

306-842-5432