Obituary of STANLEY SASS

STANLEY SASS It is with great sadness, we announce the peaceful passing of Stan Sass at the age of 88 on April 9th 2020 at Seven Oaks Hospital. Left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Connie (Rick) Clarke, grandchildren Jillian (Mike) Sheedy, Carley (Kris) Luinenburg, Jessica Clarke, Jamie (Sydney) Sandison, great grandchildren, Carter and Kallie, niece Virginia Blondin and nephew Mathew Blondin. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Marge, his sister Josie Roshka, his son, John Sass and daughter, Janice Sandison. Stan was born and raised in Winnipeg. He began a dedicated career at CN Rail in 1949 as a Carman Apprentice and over the following next 40 years, took on a variety of position promotions and transfers to new locations including Dauphin, Montreal, Capreol, Winnipeg, Toronto and then back to Winnipeg in 1985. Over those years and all the places they called home, he made many lasting friendships. Stan retired from CN Rail in 1988 as Works Manager in Transcona. Nothing made Stan happier than family gatherings, whether it was birthdays, holiday celebrations or just a Sunday dinner. In recent years, he was so enamoured with his great grand children at these events, he couldn’t take his eyes off them or stop laughing at their antics. These family gatherings also gave Stan an opportunity to show off his passion for cooking. He enjoyed cooking for groups, family and for himself. Stan and Marge loved their time at their cottage at Grand Marais. When they retired they would have all the grandchildren, from age 1 to their teens, for the whole summer, keeping them entertained and loved. Their grandchildren still reminisce about those fun filled summers. Stan loved to fish, and would often run over to Pine Falls to “whip the water”. He went on many fishing trips including fly-in trips with his best friend Red McCorrie. There were also many great times with Red and Lou McCorrie at Big Whiteshell, where they had the opportunity to make many more friends that they continued to spend time with over the years both at Whiteshell and the annual Lundar golfing event. Stan was an avid golfer. His favourite golf memories were when he and his 3 golf buddies went on road golf trips to Kananakis, Myrtle Beach and other challenging courses. Stan and Marge’s retirement also included winter getaways to Hawaii, Arizona, and finally settling on annual visits to Florida. Stan enjoyed the Florida Destin beach area every January and February for 24 years. He loved the sunsets and sound of the surf. Stan was passionate about sports. In additional to golf, he enjoyed curling and participated in many fun leagues. There was not a sport on TV that he wouldn’t watch. Although his favourites were curling, golf, hockey and any type of football, he was crazy about every sport. He got a kick out of attending Bomber games and especially Jets games in recent years. Stan loved music and especially festivals and concerts. Some of his favourite memories were attending the Big Sky High River festival for 4 days in 1995, travelling to Fargo to see Bruce Springsteen, and multiple trips to see Garth Brooks. In recent years he attended a number of country music concerts as well as seeing Bryan Adams last summer for the 8th time. Stan enjoyed regular outings and socializing with his fellow CN retirees at the monthly Supervisors lunches, and especially his breakfast club get together every month. Stan was particularly thrilled this past summer to travel by train to Churchill with his niece Virginia for whale watching and touring the Churchill area. Stan’s dedication to family, humour and passion for life will be remembered and cherished forever. The family would like to extend special thanks to Dr. Masumi Dandakar of the Family Care Med Centre, the staff at HSC ward GB3 and Seven Oakes 3 U4 and U6 for their kindness and compassion in the care of Stan. A gathering to celebrate Stan’s life will be delayed until we can all get together in the future. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Kidney Foundation – Manitoba branch or a charity of your choice.