George William Rocen

George William Rocen was born at home in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, on December 3, 1934. He was the second son of Andrew and Anna Rocen. He was a little brother for John.

Before he started school, he could not speak English, but spoke only Czech. Grade one must have been quite a challenge for him. He was an alter server during his school years, and quit only after he became taller than the priest. One of his favourite high school activities was shooting pool at the pool hall with his friends during recess, with the teacher’s permission, but only if they were back by the time the bell rang.

After completing grade 11 he went to work for Herperger Brothers Garage, a Dodge Desoto and Massey Harris dealership. During the summer of 1952 he helped assemble Massey combines. He then became the parts man at the dealership.    He worked for the department of highways in 1956-1957 helping to construct the highway west of Canora, SK.

When IMC came to Esterhazy, George was hired by Schentag Company to work on construction at the new K-1 mine site. When IMC was hiring, George was the 7th person on the underground payroll. He helped assemble the first mining machine at the shaft bottom and was there when the first foot of potash was cut. He was a mechanic, then a miner operator, and in 1965 he became a supervisor, and worked his way up to Mine Captain, a position he held until April 10, 1974.

In the spring of 1974 George and Cec joined the business community first operating the Macleods Store in Esterhazy, and then from 1979-1989 a Bumper to Bumper auto parts store. George was a board member of the Credit Union for many years. In 1989 George retired at age 54.

In 1960 George met Cecilia Andreychuk at a community dance in Esterhazy. On July 6, 1963, they were married in Brandon, Manitoba. They were blessed with two sons, Chris and Todd.

In 1961, George became a charter member of the Esterhazy Elks Lodge. Of the 54 Charter members, George was the last survivor.

George was never one to be idle. He had many interests and hobbies. He set up a darkroom in the basement to do black and white photography. He was a photographer for both town newspapers and printed the photographs of student activities for the high school yearbook for several years. Many Sunday afternoons were spent going for family drives in the country to take pictures of old buildings and to look for old cars.

Later, George became interested in antique firearms and restored many military rifles. He was a member of the Esterhazy Gun Club and enjoyed shooting trap.

 In 1977 he became interested in old cars and built a workshop. He restored many cars and worked on everything from Model T’s to Mustangs. A couple of his favourites were his 1957 Ford Retractable Hardtop, and his 1958 Meteor. He helped start the Wheels of Fortune Car Club and came up with the club’s name. His last great passion was collecting and restoring Coleman lamps, lanterns, and irons, which he enjoyed for the last 20 years.  This included attending many auction sales and flea markets. Cec supported George in his hobbies, and he said that she had “Coleman Eyes” for spotting new treasures for him. George and Cec were members of the International Coleman Collectors Club and attended 11 conventions throughout the United States.

Over the years, because of his hobbies, George and his family made many new friends both here and from around the world.

Other noteworthy memorable activities were camping with neighbors at nearby lakes and going fishing up north.

He loved waterskiing and boating at Round Lake in the 1950’s and 1960’s.

 In recent years, George looked forward to visits with Chloe and Charlie, the two grand puppies. A trip to Yorkton wouldn’t be complete without having some of Joan’s home-made soup.

George and Cecilia celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on July 6 of this year.

George was predeceased by his parents, his brother John, brothers-in-law Cecil and Clayton Andreychuk.

He is survived by his wife Cec, sons Chris and Todd (Joan),  sister-in-law Olga Andreychuk of Minnedosa, Manitoba; brother-in-law Kash (Fran) Andreychuk of Yorkton, Saskatchewan,  sister-in-law Joan Andreychuk of Toronto, Ontario, numerous nieces and nephews, and several cousins in the United States.

George faced his illness bravely, and never complained. On October 24, at 1:45 pm, he passed away with his family at his side, while listening to his favourite song; “El Paso” by Marty Robbins.