George Horbaty
May 16, 1934 – March 31, 2021
On Wednesday March 31, 2021 our husband, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend passed away at the family home he grew up in with the support of his wife, children, grandchildren, doctors, Palliative and Homecare services.
He leaves to mourn his wife of 54 years Patricia, daughters Kimberly and Katherine and son Fred and and daughter-in-law Leanne, as well as grandchildren (his Kididdles) Courtney, David, Caitlyn, Connor, Noah, Elliot, and Abigail. He will be fondly remembered by numerous nephews and nieces, friends, and acquaintances whose lives he touched with his generous and gentle nature.
Born May 16, 1934 on the family farm on the borders of St. Clements and Brokenhead municipalities in Libau, Manitoba. He was the 13th child of 13 born to Fred and Katherine Horbaty. After their passing, he and his brother Peter, maintained and farmed the land his father cultivated upon his immigration to Canada. In 1967 he married Patricia Denchuk and together they built a family on that homestead and continued to welcome extended family and friends over the years. Dad was also a crane operator with Manitoba Rolling Mills/Gerdau Steel working long hours and farming to support his family. We have fond memories of our early years bringing supper out to the field, drinking water from the mason jars, or the “dipper”, and toasted tomato sandwiches and the smell of coffee after a late evening cutting and baling hay. Running a farm and working meant we didn’t travel much; however, we did venture a trip to Georgia to visit dad’s sister and family who took us to Disney World as well as trips to Kenora to visit dad’s niece and her family taking us to see Rushing River. They also drove to BC on a few impromptu occasions to be with his brother Nick - dad would tell mom out of the blue to ‘pack a bag and let’s go’ and then they were off.
Dad had a mixed farm of cattle, chickens and grain with the odd duck and goose flock thrown in. We gathered, washed, candled, and packed the eggs the chicken produced and then dad would take them into Winnipeg and surrounding area to deliver to his customers. Those deliveries often included trips to the local fruit and vegetable, and meat markets on Main Street and the bakery on Euclid where food was acquired that supplemented and sustained our family growing up.
Dad and mom enjoyed trips to Warroad and Thief River Falls for many years after his retirement, Thief River Falls being their favorite to host family gatherings. It was a place where the grandkids could hang out by the pool and arcade while grandpa and grandma tried their luck at the casino. We were fortunate enough to make a trip there in October of 2019 that will stay with us forever. They also enjoyed spending time at South Beach Casino were they had many friends. More than a few Sunday mornings were spent with family enjoying a buffet breakfast before coming back to the farm.
Our family would like to thank all those who supported us to keep dad at home as he wished following his cancer diagnosis in 2019. We are forever grateful to dad’s nephew Michael, the homecare staff and palliative care team, Dr. Gillette and all others who provided for dad and our family.
We are saddened to see him leave us but have hope to meet again in the eternities. Rest peacefully now, we will always love and remember you.
Due to covid restrictions, a private family funeral was held, recorded, and can be viewed via the following link https://youtu.be/7tkIqncAchU. Interment will follow at the Libau East Cemetery after the funeral service.
Friends and family can also leave messages of condolence on his tribute wall at www.gilbartfuneralhome.com.
Gilbart Funeral Home, Selkirk in care of arrangements.
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