Mary Sass was born August 25, 1919, at Fort William, Ontario, to Sam and Eva Sass.  Mary was the third eldest child in the family.  She was the younger sister to her sister Jessie, her brother Frank and older sister to Mike, Paul, Pauline and Ann.  Mary was the last surviving child of that generation.  The homestead and original Sass farm was located in the Samburg district, located northeast of Prince Albert.  The Sass family then moved 3 miles east of Janow Corners, south of Weirdale.   The Elk Grove School yard was situated across the road of the Sass farm.  There she enjoyed playing ball and other kid games of that era, along with receiving her education.  Mary Sass married John Zaparaniuk, November 20, 1938.  They had a church marriage in the Catholic Church at Samburg.  The reception took place in the Sass family home and the wedding dance was held in a granary at the Sass farm.  Oh the good ole’ days.  Life was wonderfully simple back then.  John provided a log home for him and Mary to live in on their farm south east of Meath Park.  They lived in that house for many years until the fire.  That night when they had cows to milk, they didn’t even have any pails to milk in.   Family members, neighbours and friends then pitched in to build a new home for them.  What a great sense of community!  Mary and John were proud of their Ukrainian heritage.  Mary made pedohea, holubtsi, studenetz, nachynka, pidpenky, nalysnyky, kutia, borscht, Easter babka, kolach, and sauerkraut.  Over the years Mary and John took many trips to Manitoba to see family at Cranberry Portage and Winnipeg, as well as other vacations to various locations.  Service and community were important to Mary.  She served on the Board of the Weirdale Church and with the ladies auxiliary.  Mary and John were members of the Meath Park Seniors.  They both enjoyed playing bingo and supported various community events.   The family of Mary Zaparaniuk would like to thank all of Mary’s friends at the Condo.  Your friendship and caring and visits to Mary mean a lot to us.  Many of you have paid particular attention to her since her husband John’s passing.  When our family members were not able to be with Mary on a daily basis, you were there with her, for her; including her in card games, shuffleboard and general visiting.  Thank you for including her in your lives.  We appreciate that very much. We would also like to thank all the homecare workers that checked in on Mary at her condo.  She looked forward to your daily visits and appreciated the care you gave.  Lastly, thank you to the care workers in Shellbrook, Kinistino, and at the Herb Bassett Home in Prince Albert that looked after her in her final stages of her life.  It takes special people to do such honourable work.  Thank you for doing your part.  You all had a very positive impact on Mary’s life.  Mary is survived by she and John’s nieces and nephews; as well as relatives and dear friends from the Sherwood condominium.  She was predeceased by her husband John; her parents Sam and Eva Sass; her in-laws Fred and Domka Zaparaniuk; her siblings Jessie, Frank, Mike, Paul, Pauline and Ann; several nieces and nephews; as well as sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law.  Public Visitation will be held from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm., on Thursday, March 3, 2016 at Gray’s Funeral Chapel, 575 – 28th Street West, Prince Albert, SK.  Funeral Divine Liturgy will be celebrated at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, March 4, 2016 at St. Georges Ukrainian Catholic Church 770 – 14th Street West, Prince Albert, SK with Celebrant Reverend Father Vasyl Kravchuk.  Interment will be held at Prince Albert Memorial Gardens.  In lieu of other tributes, memorial donations can be made to the Herb Bassett Nursing Home, 1200 – 24th Street West, Prince Albert, SK S6V 4N9 or to the Victoria Hospital Foundation, Dialysis Department, 1200 – 24th Street West, Prince Albert, SK S6V 5T4.  Condolences may be sent to the family at www.grays.ca Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Gray’s Funeral Chapel, (306-922-4729).

• Date : 2016-02-24
• Location : Prince Albert, SK