Obituary of CARL STEPHEN BREZINSKI

Carl Stephen Brezinski Carl Stephen Brezinski passed away April 28, 2013. Celebration of Carl's life was postponed to coincide with the passing of his beloved wife of 66 years, Anna Vivian Brezinski. Dad was born in Saskatchewan on December 29, 1919 into a farming family of 12 children. Dad's early years were all about going to school and contributing to the family farm operation. Dad mentioned about how many stones they unearthed every time they went to cultivate the soil. The land wasn't ideal but they did their best to work with what they had. That was the norm until on October 13, 1941 when Dad became a Soldier for the Canadian Army. He received training to become a Anti-Aircraft Gunner stationed in Halifax. He was then stationed off the west coast in Prince Rupert B.C. where he was part of the RCAF Prince Rupert Light Anti-Aircraft Battery to take down enemy aircraft in the Aleutian Islands. Dad was discharged from active duty on April 1, 1946. Returning home to Saskatchewan, he met Mom, and after a brief courtship, married on October 14, 1946. Jobs were hard to find. After searching for work in Toronto and Detroit, they decided to take any job in Winnipeg to still be close to back home. One of his first jobs was shaking hides at Canada Packers. He then tried auto mechanics working for George Swan at Swan's Service on Isabel Street (now Rondex). He surprised himself as to how much he liked what he did and his boss happy with his work, promoted him to manager. Dad thought if I could do this for somebody else why can't I do this for myself? So he sought out the help from Veterans Affairs who graciously put him through auto mechanics school and gave him a salary while going to school so they didn't have to worry about putting food on the table. Dad received auto mechanic repair and welding training then quickly secured his first service station as a sole proprietor in 1949 at the corner of Colony & Ellice under the Electro Gas brand banner. That location lasted several years and closed when another location became available at the corner of Maryland & Notre Dame under the North Star name. This location became useful to the City for the Cumberland Roadway so the station was lost. Dad then moved to the corner of Tecumseh & Notre Dame to again operate a service station this time with White Rose. Shell took over the White Rose brand, demolished the building to build one of the first Shell Car Guard centres in Winnipeg. This lasted for a few years until Shell decided to try self serve and convert the bays into something other than vehicle repairs. This took him to his final move to Salter & Bannerman again with Shell. Dad officially retired in 1985 providing quality service and a friendly smile for 36 years but long time customers knew Dad didn't "retire" because son Richard took the business over and customers could see Dad from time to time pop in to help out wherever he could. He enjoyed getting to know people, kibitzing with them and took pride in the trust they placed in him by bringing their vehicles for service. As Dad's family grew, so did the need for housing. Dad again turned to the Veterans Affairs for help. Through the assistance of the Veterans Land Act, Mom & Dad pioneered in 1951 to the community of Rivercrest in West St. Paul. When this house became too small, land was acquired across the street and in 1962 their current house was built. Dad enjoyed building things, renovating, doing electrical work, gardening or just sitting in his lawn chair enjoying the summer sun. Mom and Dad enjoyed vacationing in Hawaii and as a family we made many car trips to both Canadian and American destinations. Dad attained the age of 93 years. At the time of his passing he was the only member of his family to pass the age of 90. He ate well thanks to Mom, he looked after himself and kept active doing the things he liked. He was even driving up until a few months before he passed. At Dad's passing he left to cherish his memory his beloved wife of 66 years Anna (passed March 10, 2016), his daughter Pam, sons Richard & Kenneth Carl, daughters-in-law Christina & Maria, grandchildren Steven, Jaclyn (Jason), Alana (Shawn), Lisa, Leah, Kenneth Kyle & Alexandra. He also leaves two sisters Adele & Mary (passed away in 2014) and brother Tony who passed away in 2015. He was predeceased by his parents Michael & Anna, his eldest son Larry (2009), seven brothers (Peter, Edward, Walter, John, Marion, Stan & Louis), and sister Josephine. To honour our parents and to offer respect and gratitude, extended family and close friends joined together in a private memorial service for both Carl Stephen and Anna Vivian at Cropo Funeral Chapel on Thursday, June 09, 2016. A private family interment was held after the memorial service. Special thanks to the Canadian Veterans Affairs Department. Memorial donations may be made in Carlʼs memory to: Children’s Wish Foundation, 350 St. Mary Ave., Wpg., MB R3C 3J2. Rest in Peace, Father. Spoczywaj w pokoju, ojciec