JOHN GREGUS
1951 - 2015
John Rudolf Gregus Jr., beloved husband of Roxie Gregus, passed away unexpectedly in Taber on Friday, May 1, 2015 at the age of 63 years.
The Funeral Service was held at Knox United Church, 4929 - 50 Avenue, Taber on Friday, May 8, 2015 at 2:00 P.M.
Besides his loving wife Roxie, John is survived by their daughters Tiffaney Gregus (Aaron) of Calgary, Shauna Gregus (Jared) of Lethbridge and Tosha Gregus of Taber; his siblings T.A. (Willie) Hannah, Joey (Teresa) Gregus and Shelly Sekura. He is also survived by his nieces and nephews Jennifer Angyal, Christopher (Annie) Gregus, Ashley Gregus, Jordan Gregus, Krystal (Eric) Stolk, Brandon Gregus, Kendon Gregus and Cody Sekura; sisters-in-law Janet (Matt) Macey, Cindy (Gerry) Kunz, Shaune (Lee) Switzer, Molly Brander, Laurie Gregus, Tina Gregus and brother-in-law Vaughn Smith.
He was predeceased by his mother Irene Gregus (2010), father John Gregus Sr. (2011), brother Robert Gregus (2008), brother-in-law Dale Sekura (2010), father-in-law Ellery Switzer (1999) and mother-in-law Pearl Switzer (2011).
Johnnie was born May 9, 1951 to John and Irene Gregus. Oldest of five, he learned early to work hard. He helped on the farm east of town hoeing beets. At about the age of fifteen, his family moved into town. John had a yellow ’57 two door hardtop Chevy, which needed gas, so he took a part time job at what we all know as “the cannery”. At some point John got on full time and he continued to work there until the plant closed August 29, 2014; forty two years of full time service! This shows how dedicated John was and it carried through to his family as well as in sports like broomball, slopitch, darts, fishing, gardening, and later on poker. He married Roxie December 24, 1985, and they had their first daughter Tiffaney Dawn on July 4, 1989, followed by Shauna Marie on March 16, 1991 and Tosha Pearl on December 18, 1992. As the family grew, the need for a bigger house took them two and a half blocks east of the “Purple Barney” house, which John painted himself. The bigger yard and garden, he created himself, had John in his glory moving his pivots (sprinklers), and hoeing his garden full of potatoes, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes. As soon as the weather turned nice, there wasn’t a day you wouldn’t find John outside in the yard taking on projects, with his tunes cranked. His friends were always welcome and would always stop in if they saw him in the yard, he would always let us know “who stopped in today”. John had so many plans for the yard and house now that he was retired. His girls were his number one priority. They were never far from his thoughts. He was so proud of all of their accomplishments. Tiffaney loved the weekends she came home and got to spend quality time with mom and dad. Doing yard work, playing cards, going down to poker and darts followed by tunes at home and dancing the night away! John called her about every second or third day just to check in and say how much he loved her. Her favorite phone calls were the ones she answered and all she heard was their song, “Life’s a Dance.” They both wished Calgary was a bit closer. Shauna loves slo-pitch just like Johnnie did. She spent many hours with her dad, learning his pitching techniques. She has got them down pat now! She was excited for him to watch her play this year, he would be so proud. John would always phone and bribe her with a good home cooked meal on Sunday nights (not that he had to!). He knew exactly what dish to make to make her mouth water (favorites were mushroom chicken or steak). Tosha has been at home over the past few months and cherished every moment they had together. They were two peas in a pod who bumped heads but kept each other on their toes, shared many laughs and loved each other so much. She loved watching sports with her dad, and always looked forward to the random phone calls when she was away even if not for long. He was her “cutie” and as much as he tried to deny it he knew it was true and would grin every time he heard her say it. Cooking was a passion of his and he had perfected many delicious meals that brought family together once a week. Family meant the world to John, as seen by family dinners (especially in the Gregus clan) that went onwards to two o’clock in the morning with many topics discussed, loud music, singing and many more laughs. Fishing with family and friends always turned into some kind of competition, including rights to a WWF belt made by John. He had many summer barbeques with “grouchy burgers” and family or old teammates. He never forgot anything that happened, only his version and that of the one he was “roasting” were always a bit different. He lived for the lively discussions and laughs that came with the surrounding of good company. Coming to Jr’s place meant a warm welcome, a brew, and lots of conversations.....and when the time comes to go, it’s never a “goodbye”, it’s a “See you later!”
If friends so desire, memorial tribute’s in John’s name may be made directly to the Royal Canadian Legion, 5205 - 48 Ave, Taber, Alberta T1G 1S8 or to the Heart & Stroke Foundation, PO Box 2211, Lethbridge, Alberta T1J 4K7 (www.heartandstroke.ab.ca).