Devoted, dedicated, dependable, responsible, trustworthy, unselfish and loyal – Darrel was all of that and much more. A stand-up guy, he would never make promises he couldn’t keep. His word was gold. If you told him anything, he was a vault. Darrel was a dedicated, passionate, hard-working and caring teacher who was organized and prepared. Not afraid to put in the extra hours or go above and beyond, he always tried to make a difference in the lives of his students.

He was the glue and rock in the Zary family, the patriarch after his father’s passing back in 2004. He was a face of Melfort minor hockey, managing numerous teams, including the Northeast Bantam AA Wolfpack who won a provincial championship and advanced to the Western Canadian championship. He had a strong knowledge of hockey and was a proud, life-long supporter of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

His other sporting interests included baseball, golf, track and football. During his time in Humboldt, he loved to golf with friends Dave Hill, Tim Klimosko, Vernon Rabinovitch and Eric Tagseth at the Humboldt Golf Club. He was proud to once win the low-net award at the Saskatchewan Amateur. Among his other close friends were Luke Doepker, Myron Hendricks, Brad Wittke, Rob Eichorst and Dean Brockman.

He was loyal and unwavering when it came to his sports teams, including the team he once proudly played for, the Humboldt Broncos, as well as the Saskatchewan Roughriders as a long-time season-ticket holder, Montreal Expos, New York Islanders, Seattle Seahawks (long before they were good), U of S Huskies, U of R Cougars and, more recently, Melfort Mustangs and Tisdale Trojans.

Besides his work as a teacher, Darrel spent the past few summers working for Melfort’s Main Plumbing company just to earn extra money to pay for his son’s hockey. He also spent decades as a faithful newspaper carrier in Melfort, enjoying the exercise and quiet morning solitude. He was always making sacrifices, always putting others ahead of himself.

Darrel Zary was born in Saskatoon but grew up in Humboldt, where a naturally inherited love of sports had him competing in everything from hockey, bowling and track and field to curling, football and volleyball. Highlights included being part of a provincial 5-pin bowling title and an unprecedented provincial bantam baseball championship with the Humboldt J’s at a time when Humboldt competed in the top division along with teams from Saskatoon, Regina and Moose Jaw. 

A natural-born leader, Darrel often wore a letter, as assistant captain or captain, for teams during those years, many of them coached by close family friend, the late Randy Schikosky. After graduating from high school, Darrel entered the work force and worked at Potash Company of America with his cousin for a few years before deciding to try and make a better life for himself through education, first at SIAST, where he played volleyball, and then at the University of Regina, where he attained his teaching degree and followed the footsteps of his idol and inspiration, his dad, who taught high school in Humboldt.

Darrel taught in Melville and Shaunavon, enjoying both places, before landing a full-time job in Melfort, where he taught elementary school at Broadway, Burke and, most recently, Reynolds. He was also involved with the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation as a teachers’ rep.
Darrel married Karen Romick on July 29, 1995. Their only child and pride and joy, Kalem, was born on Sept. 23, 1997. 

Darrel was tragically killed during a car accident early Monday morning, November 3, 2014. Darrel is survived by wife Karen and their son, Kalem; mother Elizabeth (Betty) of Humboldt; sister Darla of Vancouver, B.C., and her daughter Meghan; brother Darren and his wife Andrea and children Zach, Alyssa and Dax of Saskatoon; mother-in-law Stella Romick; brother-in-law Kevin Romick of Preeceville; aunt and god-mother Anne Perozuk of Cudworth and her sons Ward (Linda) Perozuk and Warren Perozuk of Prud’homme; aunt Elizabeth (nee Zary) Williams of Ottawa, Ont., and her children Patricia (Rob Campbell) of Ottawa, Don Williams of Toronto, Larry (Christine) Williams of Nunavik, Quebec, Kim (David Dalle) of Ottawa, Maria (Josh) Drake of Ottawa, and Dee-Dee Williams of Kingston, Ont.

He is also survived by first cousins Bill Owchar of Saskatoon, Dale (Kim) Sopotyk of Prud’homme, Derry (Irene) Sopotyk of Aberdeen, Gail (Randy) Sopotyk of Jasper, Alta., Lisa (Ken) Fonas of Debden, Sharon Sopotyk of Saskatoon and Wayne (Barb) Sopotyk of Prud’homme, along with numerous second and third cousins, especially on the Zary side with many Sielski’s, Lucyshyn’s, Pidskalny’s among them.

Darrel is predeceased by his dad, Ostap (Ozzie) Zary; father-in-law William Romick; grand-parents Nikoli and Maria Zary; grandparents Dmytro (Matt) and Katharine Sopotyk; aunt Audrey Owchar and uncle Mike Owchar; uncle Barney Williams; uncle Ed Perozuk; aunt Delores Sopotyk and uncle Wally Sopotyk; aunt Adeline and uncle Gordon Sopotyk.

Prayer Service
Friday, November 7th, 2014, 7:00pm
Officiating: Father Jeffrey Stephaniuk
Fedusiak Funeral Chapel
306 Saskatchewan Drive West
Melfort, SK

Celebration of Darrel’s Life Service
Saturday, November 8th, 2014, 2:00pm
Melfort & Unit Comprehensive Collegiate
801 Assiniboia Street
Melfort, SK

The Luncheon will begin at 1:00 p.m.

Funeral Service
Saturday, November 8th, 2014, 10:30am
Our Lady of Consolation Roman Catholic Church
104 Crawford Ave. W.
Melfort, SK

 

• Date : 2014-11-03
• Location : Melfort, SK