Paul’s Obituary
The family of the late Paul Hladun, beloved husband of Bernice Hladun of Canora, SK, announce his passing at the Canora Hospital on Saturday, February 6, 2021, at the age of 94 years.
Paul was born the second of three children on October 11, 1926 to John Hladun and Oksana (Sadie) Monich on the family farm north of Mikado, SK. Along with his older brother, Nick, and younger brother, Steve, Paul grew up on the farm during a time when farming was still done with horses.
As a child, Paul attended Phoenix School, a country school near his home. After taking grade 9 by correspondence, he attended and graduated from Zukunft High School, a country high school north-east of Mikado. While attending high school, he initially boarded with his cousin Ann Hladun, a teacher at Zukunft Public School, and then later with his uncle Stephen and cousin Peter Hladun who farmed in the area.
Over the 1945-46 school year, Paul attended Normal School (teachers’ college) in Saskatoon to obtain his teaching certificate. During his time at Normal School, he stayed at the old Mohyla Institute in Nutana. Paul began his teaching career in 1946 at Wisla School, a country school with a teacherage so poorly built that the snow blew in all winter. The following year, he moved to Dnister School and then spent three years in Bankend, followed by Kuroki for one year, Kelvington for three years, and Biggar for one year. During the summers, he attended classes at the University of Saskatchewan to work on his degree. In 1956, he moved to Kamsack to teach industrial arts at Kamsack Collegiate and lived with his cousin, Michael Hladun, a fellow teacher at the school, and Michael’s family.
While in Kamsack, Paul met and married Bernice Werbowsky, a home economics teacher at Kamsack Collegiate. The couple was married on May 15, 1959 and soon after, moved to Saskatoon so that Paul could complete his university education on a full-time basis. Paul graduated with Bachelor of Education in 1960 and a Bachelor of Arts (mathematics) in 1961. In 1962, Paul began attending summer school at Colorado State College (now the University of Northern Colorado) graduating with a Master of Arts in industrial arts education in 1964.
Paul and Bernice moved to Canora in 1961 where Paul initially taught industrial arts, later transitioning to math, at Canora Composite High School. After a 20-year career in Canora, Paul retired from teaching in 1981.
Paul was always very active within the community. He was an avid curler and baseball player through the late 1960s, umpired baseball tournaments throughout the area until the late 1970s, was on the executive of the Man-Sask Junior B hockey league from 1977-1979, and coached various curling and hockey teams while teaching. In the early 1980s, Paul became a town councillor and served as the mayor of Canora for a period beginning in 1985. Paul and Bernice were also devoted members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity in Canora where Paul considered counting the collection his job.
Paul and Bernice were very involved in their three children’s lives (Patricia born in 1967, Larisia born in 1969, and James born in 1971). Paul’s first volunteer job after retiring was running the concession at the Canora Civic Centre in support of minor hockey and figure skating, activities his children were involved in. The family owned a motorhome and enjoyed many summers vacationing throughout North America including trips to the Rockies, Vancouver, Alaska, California, and Ontario.
Paul and Bernice began building their current house in 1966, moving in unexpectedly that fall before drywalling had begun, when their rental house was sold. Paul installed a woodworking shop in the basement where he designed and built every piece of cabinetry and furniture in the house including all kitchen and dining room cabinets, the dining table and chairs, the living room furniture, and the bedroom sets. The lot was formerly a slough so Paul had black topsoil hauled in from the Mikado area to fill the yard so the family could plant a productive garden.
Paul was deeply attached to the house and the yard and continued to do yard work including gardening, lawn moving, snow blowing, and snow shoveling until the day he was hospitalized. When not outside, he spent hours each day completing Sudoku puzzles. In January 2020, Paul slipped while chipping ice from the driveway and broke his arm but, by late spring, he had healed and was ready to embark on planting his large garden and tending to his lawn. A couple of weeks ago, Paul slipped again while chipping driveway ice and, after a bout of pneumonia and intense undiagnosed pain, he passed away while hospitalized on February 6, 2021.
Paul was predeceased by his parents John (1967) and Sadie (2005), brother Nick (2017) and sister-in-law Antonia (2018), and brother Steve (1968).
Paul is survived by his wife, Bernice, of Canora; children: Patricia (Eric Roberts) of Toronto, Larisia (Mark Nickeson) of Calgary, and James (Jolaine Empey) of Saskatoon; and grandchildren: Natalia, Zane, and Trey Nickeson, and Bronwyn Roberts. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Cornel (Harry) Silversides and Darlene (Terry) McFadden.
The family would like to thank friends and neighbours, especially those that stopped by to assist or chat when Paul was outside working on the yard.
In Paul’s honour, a Public Visitation will be held from 2:00-4:00 p.m., Friday, February 12, 2021, from the Chapel of Leson’s Funeral Home, Canora, SK. A Private Funeral Service will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, February 13, 2021, from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, Canora, SK, with Rev. Fr. Petro Tsenov officiating. A Private Interment will follow at the Canora Cemetery. Those wishing to make expressions of sympathy may make donations to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity or to a Charity of Donor’s Choice, as tokens of remembrance, in memory of Paul Hladun.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Paul Hladun 2021..
Death notice for the town of: Canora, Province: Saskatchewan