Robert (Bob) Helmkay

Helmkay, Robert (Bob) Lloyd, November 18, 1934 – May 10, 2015. It is with great sadness that the family of Robert (Bob), announce his passing at the Kamsack and District Nursing home, at 80 years of age.

Bob was born at Kamsack, SK to Lloyd and Nellie Helmkay, the oldest of 7 children. There were six boys and one girl in the following order: Bob, Bill, Gene, Ken, Marilyn, Sydney and Harold.
 
Bob was raised on the family farm, northeast of Kamsack. He received his education at Bear Stream School. As there were no formal school buses in that era, he, along with his brothers, rode their large, gentle horse “Queenie” to school.  The family farm was a mixed farm; Bob tended to the cattle, and worked in the fields, putting in some long hours on the tractors and combines. He also worked in the bush with his father Lloyd and brother Bill cutting logs. At first, it was all by hand, and in the later years they used a chainsaw; all of it hauled by their team of horses.  The logs were used for firewood and lumber. Bob also worked at the local sawmill processing those logs into lumber. Bob continued farming into the 1970’s, at one time purchasing his own farm.  He also worked at other jobs, including, for a while, at Morris Rod Weeder.

Later he sold his farm, and moved to Kamsack, where he worked as the maintenance man for the Eaglestone Lodge. Here he kept the Lodge and the grounds in tip top shape. He continued to help on the Helmkay farm, where he liked to drive the bigger, newer tractors and watch that “black smoke” puffing from the exhaust.

Bob also loved to drive a nice car and owned a Cadillac for a while in the 1970’s. While he was single he took his mother Nellie in his Cadillac, on an extensive trip to BC and then down the west coast ending up in Texas to visit Charlie and Ruth Cooper. He was always very generous and was very willing to lend his vehicle to family members when they might need it. His last car was a New Yorker, which he kept in showroom condition. In later years he was also seen riding his bike down the boulevard, seemingly on the verge of a speeding ticket. He also liked to get out for a cross country ski now and then.

Bob married Sharon Liebrecht in 1979. They lived in a very nice house and yard on Miles Street, where he loved his life and Sharon and her children Shannan and Shanneen.  He was always very proud of their achievements then, and now. Very proud of his yard, he could always be seen keeping it in tip top shape, and he was especially proud of their vegetable and flower gardens.  As a family they travelled some, including trips to BC. On one of those trips he went to see Butchart Gardens, and he had remarked that he would’ve loved to have been able to work there.

Bob was a kind and generous man, always know for his big grin. He always nurtured those around him, and always offered his unconditional love. He always talked proudly of his entire family, and in his later years beamed about his three grandchildren.

Bob  is survived by his spouse Sharon (nee Liebrecht, nee Maccala), stepdaughters Shannan Vereschagin and Shanneen (Jeff) Goszulak, grandchildren, Dylan, Carter and Elyse (Shannan), brothers Bill (Bev), Gene (Helen), Ken,  Sydney (Sandy), Harold (Darlene), sister Marilyn (Ken), sister in law Bonnie Cameron (Sonny), brother in law Dale Maccala, mother in law Mary Maccala, Aunts Norma Woodward, Freida Fairbairn,  and his many nieces and nephews.

Bob was predeceased by his parents Lloyd and Nellie, sister in law Helen (Ken), and sister in law Jackie (Sydney).

Robert Lloyd Helmkay---Husband, Father, Brother, Uncle, Grandfather---he will be missed by all.

A private family service will be held on Saturday May 30, 2014. Memorial donations may be made to Kamsack Nursing Home Auxiliary.  Condolences can be offered online at wolkowski.ca