Marlys Elaine Knezacek

Marlys Elaine Knezacek passed away on August 13, 2021, at the age of 75 in the Esterhazy Centennial Special Care Home. She was born in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, on August 10, 1946, to Eric William (Willie) Theodore and Dagmar Eileen (Norman) Moller.

Marlys lived in Stockholm for her first seventeen years, attending the one-room Stockholm Public School until grade eight and the Catholic Separate School for grades nine and ten. She completed high school in Esterhazy in 1964. After moving to Weyburn for work and taking classes towards psychiatric nursing, Marlys changed fields, completing a teaching certificate in Regina, and teaching at Timber Bay School on Montreal Lake in 1966. She and Reg Knezacek reacquainted at a Bird’s Point dance that summer and continued their courtship, leading Marlys back to Esterhazy where she began teaching kindergarten.

Reg and Marlys married on June 27, 1969, and moved to the Knezacek farm. While Marlys continued to teach, she took summer classes and convocated from the University of Regina in 1972 with a Bachelor’s in Education. She taught sporadically while her family grew to four children: Nathan, Tennille, Nicole, and Kristin. Busy with kids, a successful teaching career, and service positions with the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation and Potashville Educational Association, she still found time for other interests.

Marlys loved reading, doing crossword puzzles, playing cards and board games, and was a Scrabble guru! Dressed in her flashy style, Marlys and Reg would kick up their heels at local dances and family events. She was a capable seamstress, having fashioned her own wedding dress, and later applied her skills to patch the kids’ clothes. Marlys was also an excellent gardener, cook and baker – no one left the farm without groaning about their overfull tummies! She loved to learn and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree from the U of R in 1997. After retiring in 2004, Marlys pursued politics, running for the NDP in the Melville-Saltcoats constituency during the 2007 provincial election. In retirement she finally had time to travel, visiting places like England, Wales, Cuba, the Caribbean, Las Vegas, and Nashville. For the last decade, Marlys was cared for by the wonderfully compassionate nurses and care aides at the care home in Esterhazy.

Left to cherish memories of Marlys’ life are her loving husband Reg Knezacek; their four children: Nathan (Christy Billan) Knezacek, Tennille (Kevin Nesbitt) Knezacek, Nicole (Steve) Krause, and Kristin (Craig) Verner; nine grandchildren: Logan and Juliette Knezacek, Mason and Milo Nesbitt, Olivia, Robert and Braunwyn Krause, and Rory and Kacey Verner; and many nieces, nephews, godchildren, family, and friends. Marlys was preceded in death by her parents and sister Brenda.