Walter Swiatynski 1929-2021 Walter was the eldest of two boys born to Maria and Joseph Swiatynski on December 2, 1929. He was born in Skolin, Poland. Both Walter and his brother Peter, who was seventeen months younger, were born during war times. This was a traumatic time for everyone but even more so for children. Walter did not talk about what transpired during that time in his life. It was in his eighties that he was able to verbalize the memories. Walter grew up to be a good-looking man, with a good head on his shoulders. He was sensitive, caring and would give you the shirt off his back. He had a solid work ethic, believing that if you wanted to get somewhere in life you needed to work hard at it. He had various jobs sparked by his inquisitive nature. Walter believed that if someone manufactured it, he should be able to at least figure out how to fix it. He always had a fascination with how things worked. Walter believed strongly in education. His education consisted of achieving his grade four in Russian which was required. At one point, around the age of 32 Walter decided that he was going to go back to school and acquire his grade ten. After that, he was determined to get his papers so that he could work as a heavy-duty mechanic. Halina found this strange and one day had asked her dad, “Do we have to go to school our whole life?” Walter had a good chuckle over that and brought it up a number of times throughout his life. Walter was very social as a young man; he liked to have a few drinks and go to dances. It was at a wedding in his home village that Walter met Zofia Kowalyshyn, his wife to be. At 21 he was required to go into the army for a period of two years and he did not see her. They corresponded by writing a couple of letters however, it was nothing serious and nothing happened. Then one day just before Walter was to be discharged from the army, he decided to write to Zofia and ask her if she would be is wife when he came out of the army. The rest is history because Zofia was smitten by this good-looking man that she met at the wedding and of course her answer was yes. They were married June 21, 1955. Their first child Halina was born on September 16th, 1956 and Richard was born April 16th, 1958. Walter worked hard and liked to play hard. He was the first one in his village to have a radio. Many of his friends frequently gathered around the table at their home to listen to the radio. He also had a motorcycle which was used to transport Walter to work as well as the family to church. There are pictures capturing this momentous event while the children were still small. Once they got older, it was no longer possible to transport the family on a motorcycle. Walter brought his family to Canada in July 1965. Shortly after arriving in Canada, Walter was working, pushing bush with a cat. He was very determined to provide for his family usually working 11-hour days. He went into partnership with Joe Schebel and worked at Joe Schebel’s machine shop for a number of years. Later Walter decided that he would apply at the Co-op where he did oil changes, fixed cars, and changed tires. It was at this time that Walter was lifting a motor out of a vehicle and hurt himself which in the end caused him to retire earlier than he expected. In 1976, Richard passed away on December 22nd. Richard was sick off and on throughout his life however, Walter and Zofia did not expect anything like this to happen and were devastated. It took many years for them to come to terms with Richard’s untimely death, and in the end I’m sure they never did. On April 23rd, 2005 Walter’s wife Zofia passed away after suffering from acute osteoporosis and bone cancer. They would have been married 50 years that June. Walter took Zofia’s passing very hard. She looked after him by doing all the cooking, keeping the house in order but mainly she was his companion for almost 50 years. He missed that companionship and did not know what to do with himself for quite some time. It was at Jean Wetzel’s 80th birthday that Walter met and hot to know Jadzia Bialosz. They began a long-distance relationship as Jadzia lived in Poland. After a few years of Jadzia going back and forth between Poland and Canada, she was finally able to attain the required paperwork which allowed her to remain in Canada. They were married November 27th, 2010. Once again life had meaning and a purpose. Overall, Walter continued to be blessed with good health. They had eight good years together, where they did things, they enjoyed each other’s companionship. During this time Walter and Jadzia travelling to Poland and spent a couple of months visiting relatives on both sides. Eventually, it came to the point when it became inevitable that Jadzia could no longer look after Walter. He became a resident of the Nursing Home in Foam Lake. His health was good, but he did not walk or speak which made it difficult for Jadzia and staff. Walter is predeceased by his mother, his father, his brother and sister-in-law in Poland. Richard his son, Zofia his first wife, and significant others. Walter leaves behind his wife Jadwiga, his daughter Halina (Gerry), his three grandchildren, Shawn (Erin), Kelly (Jason) and Jeff. As well as his three biological great-grandchildren, Kyler, Brooklynn and Katelynn. He also leaves behind his two step-grandchildren, Magda, Darek and Katie and great- grandson Michael. The family would like to express our thanks to everyone for the thoughts, words and compassion shown to them during their time of need. Lunch will be served at the Foam Lake Senior Citizen Centre, 310 Main Street, Foam Lake, SK. Funeral Service 11:00 A.M. Friday, August 13, 2021 Christ the King Roman Catholic Church Narfason's Funeral Chapel & Crematorium's Facebook Page (CLICK HERE) Foam Lake, SK