Barbara Shukin

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Barb Shukin formerly of Kamsack, Saskatchewan passed away at Victoria General Hospital on the evening of Saturday, March 25, 2023, at the age of 94. She was born on the farm north of Veregin, Sask to Alex Timofeyevich Podmaroff and Annie (nee Strelioff). Her mother was part of the Strelioff clan who settled at the Doukhobor village of Blahadarnoe south of Veregin and Her father was a Molokan who had made His way to the Veregin area from California. Barb grew up in the Veregin area attending Tolstoi School. At age 16 while working at the Rudin Egg Packaging plant in Verigin, She met a young man by the name of Harry Shukin. After a brief courtship the couple married in 1946 and had two sons- Robert born in 1951 and Gordon born in 1960. The family went where ever Harry’s teaching carrier took them- Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, Pelly, Veregin, eventually settling in Kamsack in 1964. In the early 1970s, Barb fulfilled Her dream of finishing Her highschool. She continued Her education receiving secretarial certification from the Saskatoon Business College in 1972. She worked briefly at Northern Petroleum before accepting the position of secretary at the Kamsack Junior High where She worked till Her retirement in 1993.

Barb was a member of both the Kamsack and Verigin Doukhobor Societies as well as the National Doukhobor Heritage Village. She was active in the Kamsack Doukhobur Choir and also served for several years as treasurer of the Kamsack and District Nursing Home Ladies Auxillary.

After 40 years in Kamsack, Harry and Barb retired to Yorkton in 2000. There they joined the growing community of retirees mixing with their many friends old and new. Following Harry’s passing in 2005, Barb joined the Yorkton Farmers Market immersing Herself in Her love of knitting and especially selling. In 2013 She moved to Victoria to spend Her final years with Her youngest son Gordon.

She had several visitors on Her last day. Among these were the wonderful caregivers Who have been instrumental in our ability to Keep Her at home with me all these years. Also present were Her two sons Robert and Gord who set a family record for their almost four hours on speakerphone reminiscing at Her bedside. Also, the wonderful nursing staff one of whom guided us through Her last breath on this Earth. It was an emotional goodbye, very painful, yet wonderful in its wake. We all know She is now in a better place walking hand in hand with Her husband and reconnecting with all those She was calling out for in the final years of Her dementia.

Barb was predeceased by Her husband Harry Peter Shukin(1928-2005), parents Alex(1876-1932) and Anna(1900-1980), infant brothers John and Alex, sister Mary MacKenzie(1921-2007), brother Peter Podmaroff(1925-1976), sisters Pat Pollant(1926-2012), Annette Podmaroff(1932-1934) and great-granddaughter Jayda McCallum(2000-2020) She is survived by sons Robert of Sandy Bay Sask, and Gordon of Victoria BC, grandson Kurt Shukin of Sandy Bay, great-granddaughters Sierra Bird of Saskatoon, Jasmine Ray of Prince Albert, great-grandsons Ashton and Dominic of Sandy Bay, great great grandson Jamison, great great granddaughters Jayia and Jaylynn of Prince Albert, adoptive daughters Linda Caisse of Prince Albert, Nikki McCallum of Sandy Bay, and Marianne McCallum of Prince Albert, adoptive great grandaughters Sonya, Tyneille, Aurora, Ally, and Jade, adoptive great-grandsons Matt, Marcus, Leo, and Dawade as well as adoptive great great grandkids Damien, Kyra, Aaliyah, and Austin.

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