Obituary for Nathanael Picklyk
Nathanael Picklyk passed away with family by his side in Brandon, Manitoba, on Sunday, January 22, 2023, at age 80.
Nathanael was born to Philip and Lena (Jaremchuk) Picklyk in a homestead farmhouse near Danbury, Saskatchewan, on June 18, 1942. He attended South Porcupine School and Sturgis Composite High School and completed various academic and religious correspondence courses. After graduating in 1961, he worked full-time at the family sawmill, grain and livestock farm. He was a hard worker, an excellent student and a responsible son.
Nathanael was raised in a strong Christian home and committed his life to Christ as a young boy. On Sundays, the family would regularly listen to evangelical church radio programs, fully dressed in their Sunday best.
Nathanael always enjoyed being outdoors. For fun as a youngster, he and his siblings played “farm,” baseball, hide-and-seek and other invented games that exercised their imagination.
As an adult, he felt a calling to attend the Living Word Bible Institute in Swan River, Manitoba. He began his studies in 1969 and graduated in 1972. There he also met his future wife, Thaisa Skripnik, and they were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1972.
Nathanael and Thaisa began their new life together in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked with his brother-in-law, Walter Labocki, in residential finish carpentry. He also assisted at the Full Gospel Assembly of God church. In 1974, they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Danessa.
In 1975, Nathanael accepted Rev. J.D. Harbarenko’s invitation to teach at the Living Word Bible Institute in Swan River and in the following year, he also became the pastor at the Living Word Tabernacle church. He enjoyed shepherding and mentoring people at the small country church and loved developing the young students, often Slavic, and entertaining them at the family home.
Two sons, Nathan and Jonathan, were born in 1977 and 1979 respectively. The years following were filled with church and Bible school activities, family events, music lessons, farm trips and vacation road trips in the full-sized, non-air-conditioned GMC van.
Nathanael was a busy man providing for his family. Besides teaching and pastoring, he continued to farm part-time. He also worked as an installer at Swan Valley Cabinets, did carpentry and painting, and worked as a salesperson at Powell Motors.
In 2000, Nathanael and Thaisa resigned as pastors of the Living Word Tabernacle and relocated to Onanole, Manitoba. They became pastors at Calvary Gospel Church in Elphinstone, Manitoba, in 2001, and continued there until their retirement in 2008. Nathanael loved the very small town church, the after-service coffee and lunches, and ministering at nearby senior homes.
In 2010, they moved to Brandon, Manitoba, where they attended Calvary Temple church, volunteering to lead monthly senior services and Ukrainian gatherings.
Nathanael’s hobbies were more of a “productive” nature. He enjoyed spending his free time maintaining, painting, and renovating the home, tinkering in his shop and doing woodcrafts, gardening, and taking yearly trips to the Saskatchewan farm to maintain the old yard and to putter about. Nathanael loved discussing theology or more casual topics with friends over coffee or around his fire pit. He deeply appreciated family history, heirlooms and farm antiques. Throwing away things was not in his nature — everything was valuable and useful to him. Most of his evenings were concluded by watching CBC News while updating his daily journal.
Throughout winter, he entertained himself by planning his summer camping trip to the farm with his sons and grandson. There they would enjoy open space, trees, gravel roads, fields and a big sky, not to mention bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, and open-fire-cooked steak. Lawnmower, tractor or truck mechanical failures always provided enough entertainment and satisfied his desire to restore life in old things. The road trip was fueled by coffee and pie at The Whistle Stop in Norquay or a chocolate bar and Coke purchased in Swan Plain.
Nathanael was a quiet, patient, and honest person, a man of character. He was steady and cautious and would often tell his kids “Be careful!” and would remind them to do things “systematically and logically.” Nathanael was a prayerful man and his Bible was always with him, even away from home.
Nathanael Picklyk was pre-deceased by his father, Philip, in 1986, and his mother, Lena, in 2021. Left to cherish his memory is his wife Thaisa, children Danessa (Jeff) Mathis, Nathan (Deanna) Picklyk, Jonathan (Monique) Picklyk, grandson Emerson Picklyk, siblings Andrew (Evelyn) Picklyk, Marcy (Walter) Labocki, David Picklyk, Hazel (Hugh) Norstrom, Maebelle (Dave) Clark, Georgina (Dwayne) Trelenberg, Charles Picklyk.
Nathanael was cherished and truly loved, and is missed immensely. Until we meet again to forever be with the Lord.
The Funeral Service will be held at Calvary Temple, 620-34th Street, Brandon, Manitoba, on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. Reception to follow. For those not able to attend, the family invites you to view the service remotely on Nathanael’s memorial page at www.memorieschapel.com.
The Graveside Service, open to the public, will be held at Birchwood Cemetery, Swan River, Manitoba on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 2:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to either the Westman Hospice, Box 20002 Brandon, MB, R7A 6Y8 (westmanhospice.ca) or the Never Alone Cancer Foundation, PO Box 51064 RPO Tyndall, Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3C6 (nacf.ca), both of which provided support and care for Nathanael during a difficult year.
Nathanael was born to Philip and Lena (Jaremchuk) Picklyk in a homestead farmhouse near Danbury, Saskatchewan, on June 18, 1942. He attended South Porcupine School and Sturgis Composite High School and completed various academic and religious correspondence courses. After graduating in 1961, he worked full-time at the family sawmill, grain and livestock farm. He was a hard worker, an excellent student and a responsible son.
Nathanael was raised in a strong Christian home and committed his life to Christ as a young boy. On Sundays, the family would regularly listen to evangelical church radio programs, fully dressed in their Sunday best.
Nathanael always enjoyed being outdoors. For fun as a youngster, he and his siblings played “farm,” baseball, hide-and-seek and other invented games that exercised their imagination.
As an adult, he felt a calling to attend the Living Word Bible Institute in Swan River, Manitoba. He began his studies in 1969 and graduated in 1972. There he also met his future wife, Thaisa Skripnik, and they were married in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1972.
Nathanael and Thaisa began their new life together in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked with his brother-in-law, Walter Labocki, in residential finish carpentry. He also assisted at the Full Gospel Assembly of God church. In 1974, they welcomed the birth of their daughter, Danessa.
In 1975, Nathanael accepted Rev. J.D. Harbarenko’s invitation to teach at the Living Word Bible Institute in Swan River and in the following year, he also became the pastor at the Living Word Tabernacle church. He enjoyed shepherding and mentoring people at the small country church and loved developing the young students, often Slavic, and entertaining them at the family home.
Two sons, Nathan and Jonathan, were born in 1977 and 1979 respectively. The years following were filled with church and Bible school activities, family events, music lessons, farm trips and vacation road trips in the full-sized, non-air-conditioned GMC van.
Nathanael was a busy man providing for his family. Besides teaching and pastoring, he continued to farm part-time. He also worked as an installer at Swan Valley Cabinets, did carpentry and painting, and worked as a salesperson at Powell Motors.
In 2000, Nathanael and Thaisa resigned as pastors of the Living Word Tabernacle and relocated to Onanole, Manitoba. They became pastors at Calvary Gospel Church in Elphinstone, Manitoba, in 2001, and continued there until their retirement in 2008. Nathanael loved the very small town church, the after-service coffee and lunches, and ministering at nearby senior homes.
In 2010, they moved to Brandon, Manitoba, where they attended Calvary Temple church, volunteering to lead monthly senior services and Ukrainian gatherings.
Nathanael’s hobbies were more of a “productive” nature. He enjoyed spending his free time maintaining, painting, and renovating the home, tinkering in his shop and doing woodcrafts, gardening, and taking yearly trips to the Saskatchewan farm to maintain the old yard and to putter about. Nathanael loved discussing theology or more casual topics with friends over coffee or around his fire pit. He deeply appreciated family history, heirlooms and farm antiques. Throwing away things was not in his nature — everything was valuable and useful to him. Most of his evenings were concluded by watching CBC News while updating his daily journal.
Throughout winter, he entertained himself by planning his summer camping trip to the farm with his sons and grandson. There they would enjoy open space, trees, gravel roads, fields and a big sky, not to mention bacon, eggs, toast, coffee, and open-fire-cooked steak. Lawnmower, tractor or truck mechanical failures always provided enough entertainment and satisfied his desire to restore life in old things. The road trip was fueled by coffee and pie at The Whistle Stop in Norquay or a chocolate bar and Coke purchased in Swan Plain.
Nathanael was a quiet, patient, and honest person, a man of character. He was steady and cautious and would often tell his kids “Be careful!” and would remind them to do things “systematically and logically.” Nathanael was a prayerful man and his Bible was always with him, even away from home.
Nathanael Picklyk was pre-deceased by his father, Philip, in 1986, and his mother, Lena, in 2021. Left to cherish his memory is his wife Thaisa, children Danessa (Jeff) Mathis, Nathan (Deanna) Picklyk, Jonathan (Monique) Picklyk, grandson Emerson Picklyk, siblings Andrew (Evelyn) Picklyk, Marcy (Walter) Labocki, David Picklyk, Hazel (Hugh) Norstrom, Maebelle (Dave) Clark, Georgina (Dwayne) Trelenberg, Charles Picklyk.
Nathanael was cherished and truly loved, and is missed immensely. Until we meet again to forever be with the Lord.
The Funeral Service will be held at Calvary Temple, 620-34th Street, Brandon, Manitoba, on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 11:30 a.m. Reception to follow. For those not able to attend, the family invites you to view the service remotely on Nathanael’s memorial page at www.memorieschapel.com.
The Graveside Service, open to the public, will be held at Birchwood Cemetery, Swan River, Manitoba on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at 2:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to either the Westman Hospice, Box 20002 Brandon, MB, R7A 6Y8 (westmanhospice.ca) or the Never Alone Cancer Foundation, PO Box 51064 RPO Tyndall, Winnipeg, MB, R2X 3C6 (nacf.ca), both of which provided support and care for Nathanael during a difficult year.