John Senkiw passed away on Monday, January 12, 2015 at the age of 71 at the General Hospital in Regina. John was born on the family farm west of Wishart on March 29th, 1943 to Vera (Husak) and Peter Senkiw. He was the oldest of four children. John attended Larisa Country School up to grade 8, then for grades 9-11 he boarded at the Mohyla Institute and attended Nutana Collegiate in Saskatoon. He returned to Wishart to complete his grade 12. John started his teaching career in a one-room country school near Buchanan. The following year he decided to return to the University of Saskatchewan during which time he completed his Bachelor of Education and Arts Degrees. Several years later he received his Masters degree in Educational Administration. While attending university John met the love of his life, Connie Babij. They married in 1967and moved to Wishart where John became vice principal and where Connie was already on the teaching staff. Over the next fourteen years John taught a variety of subjects but mathematics and chemistry being his major fields of interest. While here he set up the football program and coached and refereed both football and basketball. On the home front John and Connie built a house in Wishart and started their family. Carey was born in 1970, Tracy in 1972, Michael in 1979 and Annamarie in 1981. It was the summer of 1981 that John accepted the principalship at the Foam Lake Composite School and the family moved to Foam Lake where he continued to teach, coach football, and referee basketball until he retired in 1994. John was a huge supporter of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the family had season tickets for over 35 years. His love for the sport and the Riders was passed on to all four of his children. John was an outdoorsman enjoying hunting and fishing but he was also a conservationist. At a very young age he became a birder and his love for the sport was part of his life. During his retirement years when he and Connie began traveling they would often travel to destinations where "lifers" could be spotted. In May of 2008 he wrote his first birding article for the Foam Lake Review. Later on, several other local papers began publishing his articles and he even established his own birding website. John created presentations using his own photographs on birds of Saskatchewan and presented them in Foam Lake and in neighbouring communities. John enjoyed gardening and growing native fruit trees which he enjoyed sharing with his backyard birds. John was a handyman and there was little around the house and yard he could not fix or build. He eventually built a shop where he began to create fine woodwork projects like toy boxes for the grandchildren and recipe boxes for his daughters, in the latter case cutting and milling lumber. After retirement John served for six years on board of the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Saskatchewan Branch, as well as six years on the board of the Mohyla Institute. He was an active member of Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church and served as a Board member at the local and district levels. He also served his church by being a palomar. John was predeceased by his dad Peter in 1968, and his son Michael in 2003. Left to celebrate his life and cherish his memory are his wife of 47 years, Connie, three daughters and their families: Carey and Steve Moretti of Carlsbad CA, children Annabella, Leonardo and Valentina; Tracy Lines of Regina SK, children Hilary and Thomas; and Annamarie and Jason Robison of Calgary AB, mother Vera of Wynyard; brother William of Winnipeg, MB; brother Orest of Calgary, AB; and sister Marusia of Winnipeg, MB. and their families. John was very proud of his family and his Saskatchewan and Ukrainian Heritage. John's sense of humour and love of life was felt by all that knew him. He will be sadly missed by all. Eternal Memory! Вічна Пам'ять!