Obituary of WALTER HOLOBUSH

WALTER HOLOBUSH

December 12, 1935 – April 8, 2025

It is with tremendous sadness that I announce that my father Walter Holobush of Teulon, formerly of Stony Mountain, passed away on Tuesday, April 8, 2025 at the age of 89 years 4 months.

Where does a son begin to describe the absolute incredible life of my father. An incomprehensible effort of willpower, courage and determination to succeed against all odds against him. My father was without a doubt the toughest, meanest man that ever walked the face of the earth, and I loved him dearly. He was also the most powerfully strongest, fairest and honest man. He was mean, lean, gruff and tough and I knew it. I worked for my father my entire life for basically next to nothing and if given the choice today, would have done the same thing all over again.

Dad’s first childhood years of his life were in Plumas, Manitoba on a farm. At the age of 10 or 11 (I have always been unable to substantiate what year it was, 1945 or 46), with the break-up of his family, Dad hitch-hiked and inevitably was driven from Plumas to Winnipeg where miraculously an agency must have located a relative (Botan’s off Main St. near Mckenzie Ave. in Old Kildonan). Later, Dad’s older sister Ann was located and unbelievably Dad and Ann were re-united. Dad told me they lived together for quite a while on a block on Harbison Ave. and then on Grey St. in East Kildonan. With Dad only knowing a few words in English and the odd sentence of the English language, his prospects were very bleak as he mostly spoke Ukrainian. Dad told me he started taking English night classes in the area and started teaching himself to read and write English and to try and correctly pronounce words.

Dad had several jobs as a young man. Door to door selling jobs as a young man. Door to door selling jobs type of thing, he told me he tried everything imaginable but nothing seemed to last or work. Dad always thought that he could do better on his own, that he had the know-how to do many things in the world. After repeated attempts, Dad finally convinced a bank manager on Munroe Avenue in East Kildonan to reluctantly borrow him enough money to buy a dump truck. This was the start of a turning point in Dad’s life, which later paved the way for him operating and owning his own business and companies. To make a long story short, Dad kept borrowing and buying. Purchased a semi truck with a flat deck trailer and a gravel trailer and started hauling anything and everything for anyone who would hire him. He bought another truck and started hauling gravel for BACM from Gull Lake. An Ag rep hired Dad to haul all winter, at night, loose hay in stacks forked into balers then loaded on his trailer from places such as Eddystone, Toutes-Aides, St. Rose du Lac, Crane River areas, and all over the place. He bought another trailer to haul all winter long from those areas. They baled the hay, helped Dad load, and then he was sent anywhere and everywhere. Dad formed a company called Holobush Hauling Ltd. and started hiring operators, buying and renting machinery. He started hauling more gravel, soil, sand, machinery and hay. Dad then rented gravel pits in Bird’s Hill and Stony Mountain, purchased a crusher and started crushing gravel and bought a screener and started screening soil.

Dad then purchased two Hough loaders and did snow removal in lots all over Winnipeg and north. He told me he purchased graders but couldn’t find ample work with them and got rid of them. He told me they couldn’t keep up with snow removal in the winter, all you could possibly do day and night. He purchased Cats and started doing landscaping. Dad was simply the best at buying and selling anything that he owned and everybody knew it. Friends, neighbours and colleagues always tried to take him with them when they were purchasing machinery or vehicles as his dealing and bartering would always save them price. He was the best there was at it, bar none.

Mom and Dad then purchased property on Willis Rd. in West St. Paul. Dad had many friends in the area and was quite involved in the community and operating their construction business.

Dad was one of the founding members of West St. Paul Curling Club and was one of the people who helped build and construct the building. He curled there for many years and one of Dad’s proudest moments was when he was elected President of West St. Paul Curling Club in 1970 and Vice-President in 1972 with his picture still on the wall there today, and spoke many times in front of packed curling rinks all over Winnipeg and north.

He really enjoyed curling and watching curling. Dad enjoyed baseball and really understood the game. He liked to shoot pool, 9-ball and was quite good at it. He played table tennis with his son quite often, enjoyed hockey from time to time and attended quite a few Jets games over the years with his son. And then, later in life over quite a few years,  became a golf addict, playing on courses all over Manitoba with his son and was a member of Teulon and Inwood golf courses for a few years and actually became quite adept at the game after having played it.

Dad always knew he wanted to farm if possible and purchased a small farm at Stony Mountain and with his son who was very young at the time, started doing custom work around the area. Dad bought a tractor, another Cat breaking disc, breaking plow, a rock spike, a rock wagon, heavy chainsaw to cut roots and started doing custom work there and a little bit further north around Oak Hammock Marsh. Dad rented some land, purchased some land, built several wood structures on the farm, sheds, machine sheds, graineries, purchased farm equipment. Did a lot of custom work in the area for other farmers. Broke a tremendous amount of that native grassland all over the area for many years. Got rid of the stones, did some drainage and prepared it for grain or hay. Hard to comprehend what we did, when started I remember he purchased an 800 Versatile tractor, and when it was done many years later, I remember we had put over 17,000 hours on that tractor.

Dad was an extremely powerful man, especially in his prime able to lift, move and shovel tremendous amounts of weight of stone, gravel, soil, hay and grain. Dad tried to foray into oil at one time. He bought a quarter at Boissevain and for a few years sought out oil companies all over the place to start drilling for oil on that property, as there was other units near by and unbelievably struck up a deal with Tundra oil and gas and received two payments over a year and a half. It was not viable as they said, not good quality oil with too much salt water. He eventually sold the quarter to a local farmer. Some managers and friends of heavy truck dealerships in Winnipeg that Dad knew actively had asked him over many years to sell for them, as he had this reputation, and he actually tried it with Parkside Ford in the heavy division but again this type of thing just wasn’t for him, his heart just wasn’t in it.

Dad was quite involved in cattle with his son, feeding and backgrounding at Stony Mountain for many years. He was involved in owning and placing cattle at custom feed lots all over Manitoba and Rosetown, Sask. Dad marketed his fat cattle at many packing plants everywhere imaginable such as Alberta, Colorado, Nebraska, Green Bay, Guelph, Manitoba at times, and to private buyers. Dad was a licensed cattle buyer for many, many years, mostly for himself. His honest and trusting nature were taken advantage of many times in this industry. He did very well at times and other times he didn’t. During the 90’s at times, Dad owned a fair amount of cattle on feed at many feed lots. For a five year period from about 1995 – 2000 he had approximately 1000-1200 head of cattle on feed in feedlots in Manitoba and Rosetown, Saskatchewan. Dad was always a news hound. Always interested and kept himself informed of local and world news on a daily basis. Followed stock prices, oil, commodity prices, dollar and trading options. Was moderately involved in the stock market for many years including up to the time of his passing. Dad then purchased a small farm north of Teulon where his son resides and a few small pieces of land around the area that we broke up and hay. Kept feeder cattle and cows at the farm for many years. Dad then purchased a home in Crescent Creek Park on the south side of Teulon where he resided until his passing.

Dad is survived by his only child, son Brian. He is predeceased by his first wife Lois-Mae in 1981 after 20 years of marriage and predeceased by his second wife Gail in 2007 after just under 25 years of marriage. His parents Agafia and Ignace. He is predeceased by his brother John and Sylvia; sister June and Don; sister Ann and George; nephews Barry and Garry and niece Shannon. Lois-Mae’s parents Howard and Winnifred Irwin and Gail’s mother, Belle Montgomery. He is survived by his niece Kim and Darcy, nephew Trent and Anita and their families. Many friends in and around the Stony Mountain, Stonewall, Teulon, West St. Paul and Winnipeg areas. Bev Hodgins and family. Other people too numerous to mention.

I would like to thank Dad’s longtime doctor, Dr. Darcy Johnston for his excellent and outstanding care and friendship of Dad over many, many years and to thank Dad’s current doctor, Dr. Kyle Hancock for his excellent care of Dad. We are very lucky to have the best health care in the world today. I spent 38 straight days and nights with my father in the Health Sciences Centre, Eriksdale Hospital, Stonewall Hospital for a short time. He also had prior dealings with Selkirk Hospital and St. Boniface Hospital. The most caring and talented people in the world. The best there is bar none. Special thanks to Dr. Benjamin Fultz of HSC for going above and beyond in eff ort to try and prolong Dad’s life. I pushed the envelope there, pulling him in and out of bed trying to force him to walk, forcing food and the doctors allowed me to do it. It helped for a short time then went away. Special thanks and appreciation to the doctors and nurses, health care aides, staff and anybody involved with the Eriksdale Hospital. We are very, very fortunate to have such caring people in the fi nest and best hospital in Manitoba. The best hospital and people in the world. The best there is. Special thanks to Dr. Faragalla, Dr. Young, Sherry, Becky, Keneisha, Bonnie, Heaven, Jan, Christine, Kim, Leah, McKenna, Eileen and I know I am missing a few people’s names I can’t remember, thank you.

Cremation has taken place and Dad will be placed beside his second wife Gail in the above ground monument at Brookside Cemetery, just a little ways down from of his first wife Lois-Mae.

There will be no service at Dad’s request.  He just asked if you get a chance take half a minute out of your day to remember any interaction you may have had with him and celebrate the incredible life of a very good man.

When the weather turns in June or July, I’m planning a gathering of anyone who may want to drop by.

"Vichnaya Pamyat"

Memory Eternal.  Rest in Peace Dad