Nestor Drul

DRUL, Nestor ~ Dad’s departure was very peaceful, so very fitting for a man who lived all 95 ½ years of his life just that way. He left the Sandy Lake Personal Care Home on March 5, 2025, for his eternal residence with the Lord.

Dad was born on August 3, 1929, at home on the farm near Menzie, MB. He was the fourth of nine children born to Peter & Jessie Drul (Kawa). Dad attended Braddock School and later, Harrower. He took Grades 9 & 10 by correspondence, then Grade 11 in Oakburn. He and a cousin were among the first students to enroll in St. Andrew’s College in Winnipeg; with the threat of war looming, he returned to the farm to help with the threshing and farmwork.

Dad was a farmer through-and-through! His first hands-on experience at age 10, running a John Deere AR on steel wheels pulling a 10-foot power binder with his dad as operator, harvesting the sheaves while the other men stooked. And so he learned at that tender age that “Nothing runs like a Deere”, which no doubt sparked his lifelong fondness of all-things John Deere! He proudly shared that at age 12 he independently hauled grain to the Menzie elevator with horse & wagon. Then came raking & pitching hay, plowing 4 acres a day, which naturally progressed as farming was what he was born to do.

Dad met our Mom at a Ukrainian New Year’s Eve dance in Rossburn and they married later that year, on August 29, 1953. They farmed in the Elphinstone area and raised their family of five. They started farming with 205 cultivated acres. More land was needed to raise their growing family, so Dad broke and cleared another 115 acres with his faithful Model D on steel wheels. A few years later he started renting 3 quarters from Keeseekoowenin First Nation and broke 200 acres of new land with that Model D and a 24-inch breaking plow. With all this new land, and at the encouragement of Vern McIntyre, he started growing pedigreed seed and in 1959 became a member of the Canadian Seed Growers Association. He soon became a select grower, grew foundation, registered and then certified seed. A few years later he was certified under the Canada Seeds Act and designated by Agriculture Canada as an authorized seed cleaning establishment, allowing him to clean and sell bagged and bulk seed. In the mid-seventies Dad had the opportunity to lease more land from a local farmer and Keesee, so with his family's help farmed 1500 acres in crop and 600 acres in summer fallow. That was a lot of land back then! Gradually he cut down to 7 quarters and then to 4 ½ quarters. There were also 80 head of cattle. Those certainly were busy years!

Over the years, Dad was active in many organizations: In his teen years it was CYMK; for many years he was active in the National Farmers’ Union, serving as president and secretary, also serving as a director for Manitoba Pool Elevators, Strathclair Co-op & Strathclair Credit Union. Dad was a charter member of the local Lions Club and last April received his 40-yr pin. Dad’s travelling adventures included the Rockies to the West, northern BC, Vancouver, Montreal, Nevada, Wisconsin, Wyoming, but the highlight was when Dad accompanied our Baba Jessie, sisters Olecia & Leona, & sister-in-law Joyce to the Ukraine in 1992 where they walked the steps that our ancestors walked right to the very homestead that our great grandfather Fedir Drul was born in. They were even able to drink water from the “Drul Well” which was located next to the old homestead and has been used for over a century to supply drinking water to the neighbourhood. That was a special trip indeed ~ Baba was only 86 at the time and kept up with everyone as they did a fair bit of walking!

One of the things Dad loved to do was to get together with his musician friends for jam sessions. Ernie Dmyterko, John Dmyterko, Jack Zahodnik, Norman Zurbyk, and Dad got together often on Saturday nights and got the violin, cymbaly, accordian, and they just had a great time! The Sandy Lake Drop-In Centre also became a favourite a big part of his life in later years as he enjoyed morning coffee, card playing, perogy making and congregate meals, just to name a few of the activities he thoroughly enjoyed there.

He is survived by sons Larry, Ronnie, Jerry (Melinda), & daughter Darlene (friend Murray). Six grandchildren: Jason (Bev) Hunter; Brad (Nicole) Hunter; Jeremy (Chelsea) Drul, Christine Drul, Chantal (Dimitri) Antonakis and Dustin (JoAnn) Drul. Ten great-grandchildren (soon to be 11): Ethan & Cole Hunter; Parker & Bree Hunter; Petra & Elias Antonakis; Zoey, Aubree & Teddy Drul; Owen Drul & Baby Drul expected in May. Also, sister Martha Gawick, sisters-in-law Shirley Drul & Edda Drul, son-in-law Jack Hunter (Eileen), several nieces and nephews. Also surviving are Anne's sister Alice Clark and sister-in-law Shirley Brodie.

Dad was predeceased by his ex-wife Anne (Zenchyshyn) in 2020, daughter Gloria in 2010; daughter-in-law Sonia Koversky (2007); parents Peter (1991) & Jessie (2004), siblings Dennis (2008), Boris (2015), Victor (2016), Leona & Ken Mitchell (both in 2020), Olecia & Peter Pitts (2022 & 2010), Slawko (1923) and Michael (1926), and brother-in-law Bill Gawick . Also predeceased by Anne's family: Anastasia & Theodore Zenchyshyn, sisters-in-law & their spouses Stella (Mervin) Kiez, Martha (Sam) Selewich, Teenie (Mike) Olyarnyk, Margaret (Laird) Simpson, Mary (Leo) Broderick, Thelma (Harry) Fields, Rita Clark, Rosie (Ed) Leganchuk, brothers-in-law Peter, Mike (Elsie), Stanley, & Curtis Clark.

CARD OF THANKS ~ A life well-lived, treating everyone equally, encouraging others and spreading love and joy with his calm demeanour and ever-present smile aptly describes Dad’s time here. Well liked and well loved, his memorial brought family, friends and neighbours together to celebrate his life and enjoy fellowship, something our social butterfly Dad would have loved! Thank you all for the phone calls, texts, flowers, food, prayers, kind words and expressions of condolence. Indeed, to all whose lives intersected with Dad in any way, we are grateful you were a part of his life! To Rick Thom, Bryce Paterson & the entire team at Rae’s Funeral Home for their professional service, care and guidance as we planned Dad’s farewell. Pallbearers: Jason Hunter, Brad Hunter, Dustin Drul, Jeremy Drul, Ethan Hunter, Cole Hunter ~  thank you for carrying Dad to his final resting place. Thank you to Pastor Joel for singing those beautiful hymns at the visitation, your words of comfort at the graveside, and the beautiful and meaningful service with the message of hope. To Sandy Mason for providing the music and led us in singing Dad’s choice of hymns. To Les Ellchuk for the many hours spent in making a slideshow that was a heartwarming tribute to Dad. He would have been pleased to have Dolly Parton singing at his farewell, “You Are My Sunshine” was always his favourite; and “The Farmer's Song”, well, that goes without saying. To N & L Catering of Rossburn for providing a lovely lunch, and to the ladies who added koobassa (Dad's favourite snack) to the buffet table. To Vince Furman who couldn’t be in attendance however was Dad’s right-hand man for years and kept things going year-round so Dad could enjoy time at the farm. To Brent Zurbyk who was always accommodating with Dad spending time at his favourite place in the whole world ~ Green Acres ~ his beloved farm ~ which brought him so much joy even long after he “retired”. Indeed, our whole family and close friends enjoyed time at “the farm” on many occasions even after he moved to Sandy Lake. To the Home Care workers who assisted Dad, he always enjoyed your visits. To the Sandy Lake PCH who cared for Dad for the past 3 ½ years, thank you for all you do, especially those last few days. Thank you for the donations made to the Activities Department at the Care Home – those gifts were put toward the “Door Program” which personalizes every door in the building, giving it a “homey” appearance. May God bless you all!

Dad, we love and miss you. We are so grateful we had you for so many years. Larry, Ron, Jerry & Melinda, Darlene

Rae’s Funeral Service was in care of arrangements. A recording of the service is available by visiting our website. To leave condolences please visit our website at www.raesfs.ca