John Peter Francis Chudzik

We are deeply saddened to announce that John Chudzik passed away peacefully at the Portage Hospital on August 3, 2026 in his 87th year. He is predeceased by his mother Angela (Nellie), his father Daniel (Dmitro), and his sister Anne. He leaves to mourn his loving wife Pauline and children, Jacqueline and her son Christian (and partner, Lauren), Joanne and her son Jordan (and partner, Sydney), John Daniel (and wife, Yoko) and Jeannine (and husband, Ben). John was born on August 13, 1939 in Brandon, Manitoba. A few years later in 1942, his sister Anne was born. John remained close to Anne throughout her life.

In his early years, John attended David Livingstone School in Brandon. His parents were strong believers in maintaining their Polish traditions. His mother was a major influence on his life, and she encouraged him to nurture his creativity in both artwork and music. At the age of 12, he was awarded a trip to Toronto to attend the national exhibition for his contribution to a mural artwork project by his school class. From his early years, John excelled at playing piano and he was able to complete his Conservatory lessons to an advanced level.

After graduating high school, John attended Brandon College where he was a diligent student and enjoyed playing football as a linebacker. He completed his Bachelor's of Science degree in 1963 at the University of Manitoba. Soon after this time, John met the love of his life, Pauline Guenette and they married in June of 1965. After getting married, he decided to further his studies by pursuing a Masters Degree in Social Work at the University of Ottawa. In 1966, John and Pauline celebrated the birth of their first daughter Jacqueline. After graduating and completing work practicums in London, Ontario and Rochester, New York, John accepted a position as a Social Worker in Portage la Prairie.

The family continued to expand and John and Pauline welcomed three new additions with the births of their second daughter Joanne in 1969, their son John Daniel in 1970, and their third daughter Jeannine in 1973. In the early 1970s, the family moved into a new larger house with a big yard and garden in the Peony Farm on the edge of Portage. During his time at the Children's Aid Society he was instrumental in helping to set up a new treatment group home with Marjorie Fallis. In addition to being a devoted father, John enjoyed hobbies such as painting, gardening, wine making as well as camping with his family at St. Ambroise beach each summer. He also took his family on special vacations to visit his Patsula relatives in Edmonton, camp in the Rocky Mountains, and experience the beauty of Vancouver Island, trips which his family fondly remembers.

In the early 1980s, John decided it was a time to make a change in his career. For a brief period, he worked at Long Plains Reserve as a consultant before accepting a new position in 1983 as the Child Abuse Committee Coordinator for the Province of Manitoba in Winnipeg. At his new job, he worked closely with the government and police services to improve policies related to child abuse prevention. Through his work supporting Indigenous causes, he was introduced to Gladys Cook, an Indigenous elder who offered to adopt him as an honorary grandmother (Kookum) after the passing of his own grandmother. Over the years, they became close friends. John and Pauline were also active members of St. John’s church and formed a folk music group with their close friends who performed regularly to sing church hymns.

During the 1990s, John also took on a new role as a grandfather with the addition of two grandchildren, Jordan (1990) and Christian (1992) who became very close to him as they grew up. Both John and Pauline loved going to the Winnipeg Folk Festival, and eventually started volunteering there for many years with John becoming well known at the Homemade Music tent attired in his straw hat and jean jacket, where people sometimes mistook him as one of the performing acts. He passed on his love of folk music on to the rest of his family. John also became an avid photographer and during his extended camping trips at St. Ambroise, took many incredible pictures of sunsets which he shared with his friends and family. He always looked forward to his grandchildren’s visits while camping, and spent many hours with them on the beach, by the campfire, and playing cribbage.

By 2001, John was ready to retire and was awarded a Meritorious Service Award from the provincial government as well as receiving the Ian Logan Memorial Award for his dedication to the prevention of child abuse. During his retirement, John kept busy with gardening and also became a valued member of the Good Shepherd Church Rebuilding Committee. Both John and Pauline also joined the Eclectic choir group in which they enjoyed singing in and performing each year during the spring. John never lost his love of football and he supported the Blue Bombers by never missing a game on TV as well as taking his grandchildren to see live games. John maintained contact with his relatives in Poland, and was able to visit Poland and France with his wife Pauline in 2005, an experience they would always cherish. John continued family traditions he learned from his parents and passed them on to his family, including Easter egg decorating (pisanki), cooking delicious Polish foods (perogies, cabbage rolls, piróg) and celebrating many traditional Christmas and Easter dinners with his family. He also showered gifts on his children and grandchildren for each of their birthdays.

As the years passed on, he provided encouragement and support to all of his family and was immensely proud of his children's and grandchildren's accomplishments. John never gave up his will to live and he remained stubbornly independent, even when his health started to decline. He was dedicated to his wife Pauline until the end and he was grateful for her support in caring for him as well as all the care and support he received from his children and grandchildren. His family will never forget the many special moments he gave us, his immense love and generosity, his quirky sense of humor, and his tenacity to persevere no matter what life threw at him. John will be dearly missed by all his family and the many friends he made over the years. In lieu of flowers, people may make a donation to Prairie Harbour Inc. (previously Portage Family Abuse Prevention Centre Inc.), a non-profit organization.

A funeral mass will be held for John on Tuesday August 11th at 11 A.M. at Good Shepherd Roman Catholic Church, 1125 Saskatchewan Ave E, Portage la Prairie. The service will be livestreamed, to register and view, click below.

A tree will be planted in memory and cared for by McKenzies Portage Funeral Chapel. www.mckenziesportagefuneralchapel.com