WOOD: In Loving Memory Of Billy Wood who was born January 23, 1922 at Edam, SK and passed away February 8, 2014 at North Battleford, SK. Billy is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Agnes (Hricz) Wood; son: Ken (Maxine): Kaeli (David) Latendresse, Owen, Karis and Brylee, Janet (Cory) Lehoux, Nicholas and Erin; daughter, Wendy (Rob): Tyler, Haley, Amie Beatch; sisters: Kathleen Fahr & Betty (Henry) Monsebroten; sisters-in-law: Josephine Wood & Alice Wood; numerous nieces & nephews, great-nieces & nephews, great-great nieces & nephews. Billy was predeceased by his parents: Samuel Wood & Susan (Kendrick) Wood; father-in-law, Nicholas Hricz & mother-in-law, Marie Hricz; daughter, Susan Marie; brothers: Samuel, Seth, John 'James', George 'Fraser', Arthur and Fredrick; son-in-law, Greg Sander; sisters-in-law: Agnes, Lillian, Pearl 'Agnes', Margaret and Marie; brothers-in-law: Robert, Emil, Urgel & John Hricz; nieces: Agnes 'Jean' and Brenda; nephews: Douglas, Barry and Ronald. The Funeral Service was held Thursday, February 13, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. from "The Garden Chapel" ~ Battlefords Funeral Service, North Battleford, SK with Pastor Keith Klippenstein, Territorial Drive Alliance Church, North Battleford, SK officiating. The Scripture Reading: Ecclesiastes 3 : 1-8 by David Latendresse and Eulogy & Family Tributes shared by Maxine Wood. Gifts of Music by Jonah and Karla Sawatzky and Hymn Selections: "Amazing Grace" & "How Great Thou Art". Honour Guard & Veteran Honours: Branch 70 ~ Royal Canadian Legion, North Battleford, SK with Presider: Comrade John Welykochy. The Honourary Pallbearers were "All Who Shared Bill's Life" and Pallbearers were Rob Beatch, Darcy Booy, Darrel Siklenka, Colin Wood, Randy Hricz & Raymond Allen. Private Interment took place at City Cemetery, North Battleford, SK. Memorial Donations are requested to Battlefords Union Hospital Foundation Inc. Box 1358, North Battleford, SK S9A 3L8 (Designated to the Palliative Care Unit). Funeral arrangements were entrusted to Battlefords Funeral Service. (306)446-4200 Our Tribute to Papa Billy Wood was born to Samuel Wood and Susan (Kendrick) Wood Jan. 23, 1922 in Edam, SK. He was the 6th son and raised on the family farm 1 miles east of Glaslyn. Papa, as we know him, was passionate about 3 things: 1) He was passionate about farming - a life he chose when he returned from the war. He was a very proud man but at the same time humble. He believed in working hard, honesty and being fair. Papa was driven by the hard work that was necessary to accomplish all that was needed to run a mixed farm operation. Grain, cattle, pigs, poultry and 2 gardens: 1 for potatoes only and the other for vegetables all came together to make the workload heavy. When asked, papa could recite to you every detail of the farm with clarity and precision including dates machinery was purchased, land was cleared, weather patterns, years that crops were either good or a failure as well as grain prices from years gone by. He took pride in every aspect of the farm, especially the fact that he had a loving wife who worked by his side every day and a son who took over the farm - a 3rd generation of the family farming the land that he purchased and expanded. When Ken took over the farm he enjoyed being involved in the progress of the next generation - papa was never so proud as the day he and Ken brought the self-propelled combine home that we had purchased in Leoville. A brand new era of farming for us had begun and progress was a thrill to him! Whenever a neighbour needed help in any way papa never hesitated to help out. To compliment his farm income papa drove school bus for 17 years doing the Jackpine / Midnight Lake run. He soon developed a friendship with all the kids on the bus not to mention their appreciation for him. Even after nana and papa moved to North Battleford they continued to help us on the farm during seeding and harvest. 2) The second passion he had was his family. He married Agnes Hricz on April 15, 1953. His life-long love and partner of 60 years. His deep love and respect for her could be seen during work times and leisure times. Together they had three children, Susan, Ken and Wendy. He took great pride in Sue's accomplishments in her education and teaching abilities, Ken's farming practices and his curling as well as Wendy's interest in school volleyball and air cadets. He was excited to go up for a helicopter ride with Wendy when the air cadets brought the helicopter to Glaslyn. Kaeli and Janet were the first grandchildren of the family - they spent many hours at the farm, skidooing, climbing snow mountains, playing with the dog and cats and being in the garden. They would do their homework at the table and then watch T.V. during harvest. They had the priviledge of nana and papa coming to stay with them for overnight sleeps while we went on holidays. Then along came Tyler and Haley and boy did they ever light up papa (& nana's) life. Nana babysat them a lot, as Wendy worked, so he got to watch them grow up right from the start. Tyler remembers papa taking him on very long walks when they moved to North Battleford. He let Tyler push the crosswalk button and along the way they made many stops as papa had to visit with everyone they met! After he got his drivers license, Tyler came almost every day to see papa and nana. Papa looked forward to these visits. Tyler would tap papa on his hand and say 'see you tomorrow papa' when he left. He loves baby girls, so when Haley came along he was pretty proud. He looked forward to Haley coming as she would sit on the arm of his chair and snuggle - they would talk back and forth - they each had to tell each other "secrets". Nana says neither one were good at keeping secrets and Papa cherished this. He loved to watch Haley's dance moves and she was eager to demonstrate her new moves as he sat in his chair. 2005 brought a new generation of children into their lives - great-grandchildren started to come - although he hasn't seen all he would ask about them. Any day now baby twins will be an addition to our family. Alone time for papa was walking down the lane at the farm every day checking crops on Sunday mornings - he always walked to do this, first checking the ones close to the house and then crossing the highway to check the north fields. In his later years he enjoyed sitting in a lawn chair on the east step facing the garden. Getting tools for Ken when he was working on machinery. He loved taking nana in the truck to check the crops around the "block". He called these his crop checking tours. Leisure time on the farm was a luxury but he enjoyed curling, the family wiener roasts at Little Loon on Sundays (while there he never passed up the opportunity to play a game of horseshoes). He enjoyed camping when they bought a trailer. They always camped with Pete and Ethel Mykytuk. Papa and nana joined the dance club in North Battleford, the North Country Dancers. They pattern danced as well as old time danced. They both enjoyed this group very much and made many friends along the way. One very special couple to them to this day are Bill and Gwen Neville. It was so good to see papa dancing as he had suffered a heart attack in July 1992! Papa's phone calls to Ken were special. He phoned most days and in harvest he had to know, which field they were in, what crop it was and how they were doing. When Ken was trucking he had to know where he was going and what he was hauling. Tom's weekly phone call to papa were the highlight of his week. 3) His third passion was serving his country in WWII. He liked to tell his story to those who were interested in listening. He was a "gunner" on a 4 man gun on the 2nd line. History of papa's experience in 2nd WW is as follows: On Jan. 13, 1943 papa joined the Canadian Army. He was in the artillery 2nd Division 6th field regiment 13th battery. He trained at Regina, Maple Creek and Camp Shilo in Manitoba where he received his artillery certificate. He sailed from Halifax on the Queen Elizabeth 1 to Greenoch, Scotland. After further training in the UK he crossed the English Channel and landed on Juno Beach in France on July 6, 1944. He then went through Belgium, Holland and Germany to the Rhine River. Papa was wounded March 25, 1945. He was discharged from the army Jan. 13, 1946 - exactly 3 years to the day he joined! Papa was proud to serve in WWII not for the glory, but the honor of serving his country so that we enjoy the freedom we have today and for that papa we love you and thank you. As you can see the number 13 is very significant in papa's life so it was fitting for us to celebrate his life this day - the 13th of February 2014. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
