Obituary for George William Konowal
George William Konowal
July 28, 1931 – January 2, 2023
Peacefully, with his family by his side, on January 2, 2023 at the Brandon Regional Health Centre, our loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather went to be with his Lord and Saviour.
George was born on July 28, 1931 in Lemberg, Saskatchewan on the family farm. He was the youngest of five sons born to William and Mary Konowal. In his early life, George helped his parents with the farm, as well as helping with the construction of the town Post Office. As a young man, he decided farming was not for him and in 1953, he moved to Medicine Hat where he worked in the operation of the Power House. In 1957, he moved to Brandon and worked for Manitoba Hydro as an operating engineer, and in 1968, he obtained his Power Engineer First Class Certificate. George went on to be the Assistant Station Superintendent at the Manitoba Hydro Thermal Generating Station from 1975 to 1988, at which time he retired.
George met the love of his life, Leona Harbarenko, in 1953 and they married June 26, 1955. They experienced 67 years of commitment to one another through life’s joys and sorrows. They were blessed with two daughters who filled their life with love and laughter. As the family grew, he loved seeing and spending time with his sons-in-law, then grandchildren, and then great grandchildren, and was always interested in what everyone was doing and had lots of smiles for those babies through the years.
As a teenager, he accepted the Lord has his personal Saviour, he continued to live in faith for the rest of his life. One of his favourite scriptures was Proverbs 3:5-6. George was one of the building committee members of Brandon Calvary Temple in the early 1970s, and was a supporting member of the church for the rest of his life. In his younger years, he played the trumpet and sang in the choir. Other lifelong church interests included Living Word Bible College and Manhattan Beach Retreat Centre.
George and Leona loved to travel, they spent 10 winters in Arizona and 40+ years at their cottage at Pelican Lake, as well as many other trips in Canada, USA and the Caribbean. His VW Vanagon was his mode of transportation to many adventures, and later in life he always commented that he should have kept that thing! They always enjoyed spending time with their friends and relatives along the way.
He was a great handyman around the home, he could fix anything, and always had projects on the go. Looking after the yard, the garden, the fence, painting the house, things kept him very busy. We finally convinced him to quit painting the house last year! They updated to permanent siding on the front, but he had to finish things up by painting the garage door and house doors. Other hobbies included looking after the cabin, the shoreline and when the kids were young, boating and all that comes with that.
Family was very important to him and he liked to keep in touch with his relatives and his in-laws as they were all spread out across Canada and the USA. He had a lot of details that he could fill us in on who was where and how they were related.
Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 67 years, Leona; daughters Brenda (Jerry) Andre and Noreen (Randy) Nestibo, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren; sister Marlene (Dennis) Zorn; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his infant daughter Debra, parents William and Mary and four brothers.
The Celebration of George’s Life will take place at Memories Chapel, 330 – 18th Street North, Brandon on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.
Flowers are gratefully declined. Donations in memory of George may be made to Living Word Memorial Fund, Box 969, Swan River, MB R0L 1Z0.
July 28, 1931 – January 2, 2023
Peacefully, with his family by his side, on January 2, 2023 at the Brandon Regional Health Centre, our loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather went to be with his Lord and Saviour.
George was born on July 28, 1931 in Lemberg, Saskatchewan on the family farm. He was the youngest of five sons born to William and Mary Konowal. In his early life, George helped his parents with the farm, as well as helping with the construction of the town Post Office. As a young man, he decided farming was not for him and in 1953, he moved to Medicine Hat where he worked in the operation of the Power House. In 1957, he moved to Brandon and worked for Manitoba Hydro as an operating engineer, and in 1968, he obtained his Power Engineer First Class Certificate. George went on to be the Assistant Station Superintendent at the Manitoba Hydro Thermal Generating Station from 1975 to 1988, at which time he retired.
George met the love of his life, Leona Harbarenko, in 1953 and they married June 26, 1955. They experienced 67 years of commitment to one another through life’s joys and sorrows. They were blessed with two daughters who filled their life with love and laughter. As the family grew, he loved seeing and spending time with his sons-in-law, then grandchildren, and then great grandchildren, and was always interested in what everyone was doing and had lots of smiles for those babies through the years.
As a teenager, he accepted the Lord has his personal Saviour, he continued to live in faith for the rest of his life. One of his favourite scriptures was Proverbs 3:5-6. George was one of the building committee members of Brandon Calvary Temple in the early 1970s, and was a supporting member of the church for the rest of his life. In his younger years, he played the trumpet and sang in the choir. Other lifelong church interests included Living Word Bible College and Manhattan Beach Retreat Centre.
George and Leona loved to travel, they spent 10 winters in Arizona and 40+ years at their cottage at Pelican Lake, as well as many other trips in Canada, USA and the Caribbean. His VW Vanagon was his mode of transportation to many adventures, and later in life he always commented that he should have kept that thing! They always enjoyed spending time with their friends and relatives along the way.
He was a great handyman around the home, he could fix anything, and always had projects on the go. Looking after the yard, the garden, the fence, painting the house, things kept him very busy. We finally convinced him to quit painting the house last year! They updated to permanent siding on the front, but he had to finish things up by painting the garage door and house doors. Other hobbies included looking after the cabin, the shoreline and when the kids were young, boating and all that comes with that.
Family was very important to him and he liked to keep in touch with his relatives and his in-laws as they were all spread out across Canada and the USA. He had a lot of details that he could fill us in on who was where and how they were related.
Left to cherish his memory are his loving wife of 67 years, Leona; daughters Brenda (Jerry) Andre and Noreen (Randy) Nestibo, four grandchildren and nine great grandchildren; sister Marlene (Dennis) Zorn; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his infant daughter Debra, parents William and Mary and four brothers.
The Celebration of George’s Life will take place at Memories Chapel, 330 – 18th Street North, Brandon on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.
Flowers are gratefully declined. Donations in memory of George may be made to Living Word Memorial Fund, Box 969, Swan River, MB R0L 1Z0.