Ken leaves behind to forever cherish his memory his beloved wife Carol; his loving daughters: Melissa: Ethan and Ryley; Crystal (Mark): Morgan and Nate; Jaycee (Bradley): Kira, Mila, and Ally; his siblings: Patrick, Lorraine, and Gillian Wright; Carol's parents Tom and Helen Prystupa; Carol's siblings: Lyle (Heather) Prystupa, Janey McGrath, David (Teresa) Prystupa, and Renee (Trevor) Knibbs.
He is predeceased by his parents Graham and Trixie Wright; sister Jeanette Cashmore; brother-in-law Dwayne Prystupa; sister-in-law Marion Wright (Kachmarski).
Memories by Dwayne Prystupa
Good afternoon everyone, with the amount of family and friends here today it is clearly evident how many lives Uncle Ken has touched. Well, I am not going to lie I have been dreading this all week. This is something no one ever wants to do, But at the same time, I take this as a huge honour that Aunt Carol, Melissa, Crystal and Jaycee have asked me to speak here today. So I say thank you to the four of you for entrusting me with this today.
I once heard that "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give".
If that is true, then Uncle Ken has made a great life. He was one of the most giving people I've ever known, a man of integrity and truth, a true mans man. Qualities that seem lost these days And judging from the nodding heads I see in front of me, it seems that many of you agree.
In trying to figure out what to say here today I turned to my family and asked what they remembered most, after collaborating all week it was evident we each had very different memories showing how diverse a man he was. And I would be up here all day telling each one of them. This led me to think of my memories of Uncle Ken as well as other significant people that have touched my life. This turned out to be a very eye opening experience for me as I discovered that for everyone that is important to me I have a distinct memory that pops up first that defines my relationship with that person. They are not some huge event, important date and the other person may not even remember it little own realize how much that memory means to me.
This then took me back about 18 or so years, back when I used to spend a good portion of my summer vacation at the old farm where I have countless memories with family out there. This one particular time it was just me and Uncle Ken. All the girls went into town that day and I opted to stay back with my Uncle Ken and be a farm boy and help with the chores. I had a blast, but I can remember getting a little side tracked as I usually did and snuck away to go tease the cows. An activity I thoroughly enjoyed doing with my cousins. We would hop in the pen, get in all fours, toss the dirt back with one hand until they would charge at us, you then jump up and hop into the feeder before you get trampled. Hindsight now not the smartest game to play. Well this day I decided to play alone, I got that cow good and mad, I jumped up and ran towards the feeder. Well it was full and I couldn’t get in, I scrambled for the fence and scaled it like Spiderman. I sat perched on top looking down at this cow I just defeated, stood up and jumped onto the other side. Only I didn’t land, instead I swung and swayed in the wind. you see, I was wearing a hoodie, it snagged on a port and I was left dangling and unable to get myself down. At first I was too proud to call for Uncle Ken then after a few minutes panic really set in and I screamed for him. He came bolting out of the barn and running towards me, as he got closer and saw what the situation was that run turned to a slow jog and I could see the smile on his face. That infectious grin he had. Looking back I know exactly what he was saying: "this city slicker doesn’t have a chance of being a farm boy". But nothing like that at all was said. He picked me up off the fence and told me how often that happens to farmers getting out of the pen. He made me feel like I could run that whole farm on my own.
As I put pen to paper to write this memory down, that image of his infectious smile kept popping up in my mind. Only I realized I have seen that look many times before and not just to me. I will take you back to a Sunday sometime in the summer of 1990. We were getting ready to head home after a weekend at the farm, as we were saying our goodbyes somehow it was brought up about a tree that was an eye sore should be taken down next time were there. Goodbyes turned into my dad and uncle Dave piping up about how they could have it down in no time and they will just do it real quick then. Uncle Ken of course told them they were nuts and should all wait. Nope, plan was set in stone it was being done now. First hand hand saw, dad took a turn...he tired out, uncle Dave took a turn… he tired out. Uncle Ken had his go and tired out as well. 20 minutes had passed now, all 3 were spent and barely a third through the tree. Uncle Ken once again insisted they wait till next time. Nope there is a rope and chain sitting there. They can pull it hard enough and its cut enough that it will just snap. All agree good plan. Next question is which vehicle to use...half ton, tractor, grain truck? All very logical choices, uncle ken is already walking towards to barn. Nope my dad pipes up. "c'mon rice, That will take too long, we will use mine, its right here." And here’s where that smile was again that said "oh boy, don’t do it, this city boy has no idea what he’s doin’". You see, the vehicle in question here was a 1989 Caravan, barely broken in. Clearly not the tool for this job. Well that tree was still standing when we left, bumper was slightly bent and from that day on there was a slight odor of gasoline every time you sat in it.
I now ask all of you to picture Ken, and picture that smile. As you can see as well as I do all the memories that flood in. Keep those great memories dear to your heart. This goes to show how the smallest mannerisms which you may not realize you emit can mean so much and affect others deeply.
As I sat staring at the blinking cursor on how to bring this to a close I could come up with nothing and turned to the internet for any unique ideas only to find 100s of quotes on how life is short. Like life is short, enjoy it while you can. Many of them seemed fitting but I just could not use one as it goes against how I view things. This is my adaptation to people who say life is short.
Life is not short, no matter what age you live to it is literally the longest thing you are going to do. How you choose to live it on the other hand may make it feel short. The tragedy is not that life is short, it’s that we can often wait so long to begin it. Appreciate what we have now before time makes you appreciate what you once had.
Uncle Ken, We are all better people for having known you and having you in our lives. We love you and will miss you very much. It brings comfort knowing your looking down with that comforting smile on your face.
Memories by Dave Prystupa
I have known Ken for over 38 years, and in this time there’s been a lot of great memories that I would like to share.
It was in 1977, times were great. Ken and Carol bought a farm and on this farm there was a yellow riding lawn mower and an old truck which we named Betsey. And on this farm we had real guns, bows and arrows, sling shots, and two brush-cut kids Dave and Dwayne. We often wondered when Uncle Ken would drive up and notice his cows at the other end of the pasture. We never told him that he didn’t need a herd dog, he had us shooting the cows in the butt with sling shots. All he would do is lift up his hat and scratch his head.
One particular day my twin brother and I were supposed to be cutting grass, but that was too boring, we had a better idea. We tied a toboggan behind the riding lawn mower and had this thing in full tilt in third gear, man we were doing 360s and 180s and then all of a sudden came this silver El Camino, we stopped what we were doing and Uncle Ken asked what we were doing. My twin brother as normal stood there with his big eyes saying nothing and me responding “We’re leveling the road.” Uncle Ken said “Boys you shouldn’t be doing that,” lifted his cap, scratched his head, and went to the barn.
One other particular time, we were supposed to be painting fence posts. This just wasn’t right – three young boys (Curt, Dwayne, and I), the sun was shining, birds were singing, and the gophers were running. So we decided to take the raft and go down to the dug out and shoot some birds, maybe catch a few rays. We fired out old Betsey and chained the raft back and headed for the dugout. The three of us managed to get the raft into the dugout and within two seconds, this thing sunk to the bottom. I looked at my brother and simply said, “We’re in trouble mister. Let’s get out of here.” So we drove back up to the barn, made a u-turn, and there was the red truck with Uncle Ken sitting inside. He asked us what we were doing, he noticed the chain still hooked on the truck. I knew we were doomed, so I told him we took the raft out and he said “that’s not a raft, that’s a stone bolt.” He asked if we were picking rocks, I replied “that damn thing’s too heavy, how was I supposed to know that wasn’t a raft, it’s in the bottom of the dugout.” All Uncle Ken did was lift his cap and scratch his head and walked to the barn. Never did he ever yell at us, take anything away from us, just simply had that sweet grin.
The years past and we still kept in touch. It was in 1993 that I phoned Ken and said I have an idea to do business together. That idea grew and grew, and we seemed to see Uncle Ken more often. He seemed to be coming every month. Things were good as a matter of fact, we made him his own bedroom and he became a real big part of our family. He joined us for baseball games, soccer games, and going out to dinner. I had told stories to the kids, that Uncle Ken was in a farming accident and got hurt quite bad, but recovered with no side effects with the exception of a steel plate in his head. We often wondered why he was so forgetful. It wasn’t until a few years later that the nickname “Forrest Gump” was created by Matt. Matthew was quite young and took a liking to magnets, we had magnets everywhere! One particular night at dinner, Matthew asked Uncle Ken if it was okay to test this magnet on his head, and there again was that sweet grin. The years passed, and in just recent years, it’s pretty good to know that our business grew and we were shipping product from the west coast to the east coast looking after 45 stores.
To sum this all up as we know Uncle Ken is right now smoking pig ears and bones in Heaven, because as they say, all good dogs go to Heaven. What I have done is taken one pig ear for Ken and one pig ear for me, and one bone for each of us on our last order and put it in a box that simply reads “Save room for me, we’ll be partners again.” I will miss him very much, especially all the great times we shared in the red trailer. Rice, Forrest, Uncle Ken, thanks for a great run.
It is with a heavy heart and hand that I am writing this in memory of my brother Ken. His untimely death in a farm accident on March 10, 2012 caused a shockwave that ripped threw the hearts of his family, friends and community. To Ken family was everything just like he was for all of us. He was the common link that kept this family connected. He leaves behind his greatest love/joy in life, his wife Carol, their children Melissa, Crystal (Mark) Tillmanns; Jaycee (Brad) Farrants and seven grandchildren that were the apple of Papa ’s eyes , Ethan ,Ryley, Morgan , Nate, Kira, Mila and Ally. Carol’s parents, Tom and Helen Prystupa and all his siblings, Pat, Lorraine, Gillian, Lyle (Heather); Janey, David (Teresa); Renee (Trevor). His nieces and nephews were added treasures in Ken’s Tack Box of life. Ken lived a very full and busy life but he never seemed to be in a hurry. He was always ready to help others, never said anything bad about anyone and was always happy to see you with a smile on his face that will stay in our memories forever. My brother was truly one the “good guys”. In his early years Ken was active in Farm Boys Camp and 4-H. He showed both horses and cattle and won numerous trophies for his effort. Later he joined the Ag. Society volunteering hours of his time for the Fair, Bull Show and whatever they needed him for. Ken met, fell in love with and married Carol some 35 years ago and together they created a wonderful life on the farm near Richard. Ken’s passion was his cattle. There was pure joy on his face when he discussed bloodlines, what bull or cow he was hoping to buy or what semen he wanted to use. Ken’s life ended on the acreage he bought after leaving the farm. He loved his house in North Battleford, but he needed a place in the country. There is an old saying that you can take a man out of the farm but you can’t take the farm out of the man. This was so true about Ken. He needed a place for his dog treat business and had to have a few cows kicking around.
When I’m Gone
When I come to the end of my journey
And I travel my last weary mile
Just forget if you can, that I ever frowned
And remember only the smile
Forget unkind words I have spoken
Remember some good I have done
Forget that I ever had heartache
And remember I've had loads of fun
Forget that I've stumbled and blundered
And sometimes fell by the way
Remember I have fought some hard battles
And won, at the close of the day
Then forget to grieve for my going
I would not have you sad for a day
But in summer just gather some flowers
And remember the place where I lay
And come in the shade of evening
When the sun paints the sky in the west
Stand for a few moments beside me
And remember only my best.
CARD OF THANKS
On behalf of Ken’s family I would like to thank those that came to help after the 911 call. A heartfelt thank you to Deb McNabb for being there with Carol and Melissa on that awful night. To Claude and Deb Beckman for driving Greg (my son) and I to the acreage. To Aaron McNabb and Corey Riglin for being “gentle” with Ken so I could cover him with a blanket and say my Good-byes. To Sallows and McDonald – Wilson and Zehner Funeral Home, Living Faith Church and the ladies that provided lunch. All of you played an important part in our final farewell to Ken. From all of us to all of you these three words that sum up Ken and Carol’s life together. LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH! The family have requested that memorial donations be made to Kali’s Wish Cancer Foundation c/o Pet Planet, 708 Riverbend Square, Edmonton, AB T6R 2E3 or Agua Resources c/o Casey Sitter, 3116 N Main, Vidor, TX 77662.
Memories from Bryan Prystupa
I come before you as "Bones". Though my metabolism may has slowed down a tad since that nickname's inception by Uncle Ken, I encourage you all to refer to me as Bones to continue on his tradition. Maybe that will encourage me to get back in a gym again. (haha?) I truly wish we were all gathered under more welcoming circumstances, but I am about to attempt the impossible. I'll be speaking on behalf of my aunt Carol and Uncle Ken.
October 19, 1975 - I met the cutest man, with that cute gold tooth. We fell in huge, big love and knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. He met my crazy family and said you know I'll join the crazies. So, June 11, 1977 - We married, and then decided it was time to full up the farm house with children. September 20, 1978, April 26, 1980, and December 9, 1982 - we got three beautiful girls. Melissa, Crystal, and Jaycee - oh, how your dad loved you like crazy. You are the joy, love, laughter, beautiful, kind daughters that he would do anything for. I love you three with my whole heart. To my son in laws - Mark & Bradley - you picked the best, even though they have a lot of their mother's real bad habits. Loud & stubborn. Sorry Mark & Bradley, they were almost perfect. Love my daughters with all your heart [because that's what Ken did] - be patient. I know you'll need it. Wellll maybe love them 99% and the other 1% is for Hockey Night in Canada - as you know Ken knows the best - Boston Bruins rock. I love you like my own sons.
Thank you Lord for our 7 grandchildren: Ethan, Morgan, Nate, Riley, Kira, Mila, & Ally - a set of twins we always hoped for. You are mine & G-ma's diamonds, God gave us such huge blessings. I loved all our special things we got to do together- and it was so much fun and a great memory I'll treasure. So I leave this with you - March 10, 2012 - 6:33pm will be a day of National Dairy Queen Blizzard Day - and to everyone here today, take that day and time to remember me while treating yourself to a blizzard! I love you my bestest grandkids - remember now - if those 3 momma-Hitler's are mad at you - phone G-ma - she'll save you! I love you soo - soo much!
To my sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, to Tom & Helen - the best in-laws: thank you for being my other parents. To my 17 God children, Aunts, & uncles - you are all the best, so when you see a beautiful shining star - that's me, I hope that you will eat a cookie or something real sweet (like me). Renee will buy the cookies, as she is very poor at picking hockey games, and the 100 bucks she owes me will buy a lot of cookies! To all my friends - thank you for being my friends, I got to have many great memories.
And now to the man I loved the best - I loved you and thank you for your love, your kindness, sharing beautiful heart. You provided well with your long, hard work. Oh how I wish that we could have left that farm a year ago. As we had talked, and you know - what the heck! Our biggest fight - don't ever leave me with the cows as you know I cannot or will not ever kill any animal, rodent, or bug. And you left me with 3 pregnant cows - and a family of skunks. Well they will be someone's pets, but thank you for getting of the other 147, as that would have been quite hard to find homes for some really large pets.
And to our extended special people - God put you in our lives and our homes. STOP whatever you're doing to hurt the great bodies God gave you. You have a choice, so today March 17, 2012 - start the journey of better choices, as you know I didn't get to have that choice to live longer. You have the choice today, as Ken & I loved all of you. Why? Because you're still the best.
I love you Kenny G and I DO NOT KNOW HOW I WILL GET THROUGH THIS WITHOUT YOU; so please just drop a pig ear from heaven: and these songs are words that are you. This song is for you because you know, Rod Steward rocks!
Now, how to thank the people who helped us so much, you have no idea how much. To my pastor Deb: who thought we were just going to have coffee, and our journey that night was going take such a turn. Thank you Deb for helping us through such a hard loss. For helping my family try and get through this.
To Aaron, Cory, Mike, & John, Jessie, & Josh for cleaning up at the farm and caring for our 3 pet cows who will have babies.
Thanks to the service of the ambulance, RCMP, coroner, and Ken from the funeral home for your great service.
To all of you for thinking of us, blessing us with your food, flowers, cards, visits, phone calls, and mostly helping us get through this.
To Sallows & McDonald – Wilson & Zehner Funeral Home for the service today, and to the caterers for the lunch today.
To Wayne Klassen for the music.
To all of my family for getting here fast from far away, I needed you now and you were here. To Paula Schmidt & Crystal Kindrasky, and Deb, Claude Beckman, for the quick 911 team to gather with us at the farm.
Thank you for Living Faith and all the huge help to set this up.
To the worship team - thank you, honor, and guard!
To the speakers for sharing Ken's life.
Thank you to Nicole, Jesse, Shallen, for taking care of the children that night.
To Renee & Trevor: Power Dodge Trucks rock!
Scripture Readings for Ken’s service
Jesus says in John 12:24: “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The seed goes to the ground and there it opens up and brings forth life. In the same way, we have to die ourselves, so we can plant an unselfish seed. If we invest in people’s lives, then our legacy becomes like a giant oak, providing life for generations to come.
Ephesians, Chapter 3… “I ask the Lord in his great glory to give you the power to be strong inwardly through His Spirit. I pray that Jesus will live in your hearts by faith and that your life will be strong in love and built on love. I pray that all of God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love – how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is. Christ’s love is so great and I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God. Know that God is able to immeasurably more than we could ask, imagine, dream of, or think. To Him be the glory for all time, forever and ever. Amen.”
The following readings are from Ephesians and Philippians… “You are God’s children, whom he loves, so try to be like him. Live a life of love just as Christ loved us and gave himself for us as a sweet smelling offering and sacrifice to God. Be full of joy in the Lord. Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind, always giving thanks. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected; and the God who gives peace will be with you.”
you.”
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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