Obituary of Gordon Willard Ruschiensky

RUSCHIENSKY, Gordon

May 21, 1937 – April 14, 2018

A sweet and gentle soul has joined our Heavenly Father. For 35 years, Gord supervised the Drafting Department at SaskTel, having the lowest turnover of staff, as Gord loved all people and all people loved him! Status and social standing never mattered to him and my favourite story was how he once put the mayor on hold to take a call from a desperate musician needing work. Gord lived over 40 years with heart disease, yet with all his heart surgeries and procedures, there was nobody more bighearted. He especially adored our daughter Amanda, as well as his daughters from a former marriage, Lisa and Carmen. As a professional diving instructor, he groomed Amanda from a waterbaby, to excel in speed swimming and diving. He also took great joy watching her play basketball, as he himself did when young. He belonged to Regina swim club and was admired for his Tarzan physique. Despite the challenges of a May-Dec. marriage to his very Irish feminist wife, Maureen McCurdy, he always professed his undying love and constantly stated how he didn't deserve Mandy and I...but it is we who feel we didn't deserve such profound loyalty and love from such a great man. Gord was born on their family homestead, near Minton, SK. He enjoyed talking about life on the farm until moving at age 7 to Regina, attending Wetmore school. He excelled in basketball as a Balfour Redman and also lifeguarded at various city pools. He was a self-taught guitar player and singer, playing with Wally Reed and the Goldtones, and eventually forming his own band "The Creations", performing all over Saskatchewan, as well as on a weekly television show. After our travels for a year in South America, he then performed as a single act until our daughter was born in 1986. In retirement, he enjoyed building many creative paving stone patios and was a talented artist. While completing the last 11 years of my teaching career, in his retirement, our daughter was his constant companion, which he always said kept him young at heart. He always said our love pulled him through all his health issues, but it was his love for us that did. Despite all the attributes of this multitalented man, his greatest one was being a friend to all. In our 41 years together, I never heard him say a cross word to anyone. He constantly thanked me for instilling in him the love of travel, but it is I who must thank him for sharing that love with me. You always said I was the love of your life, and I felt the same. Gord hated the cold and so enjoyed our decade of being snowbirds to South Padre Island, Texas. He requested a private family interment on a warm sunny summer day, and no public service. He wishes you remember him with "Why Me Lord" by Kris Kristofferson. Einstein said "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another". Consequently, Gord’s new energy form is most certainly playing "Country Roads" or "The Battle of New Orleans" to his appreciative Heavenly fans! God Bless You my sweet soulmate and know that you are loved by so many of us! Special thanks to Gord’s loving sister Helen for all her support to us with his transition and also to Maureen and Mandy’s family and friends. Thanks also to the many friends who visited Gord during his long hospitalization. Thanks to the doctors and nurses at the General Hospital and most particularly to Grace Hospice staff for their loving care and kindness. Special thanks also to Don and Norma Millard, parents to our daughters companion, Andrew, for raising such an outstanding son. Andrew, all your chauffering, cheerful stories and reassuring Gord with your love, promising to look after us on his behalf, is a testament to your wonderful heart and character. We thank God for you and your family. Anyone wishing to make a donation in Gord’s memory, please contact Regina Wascana Grace Hospice or Canadian Cancer Society. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.paragonfuneralservices.com  “THE SOUL OF A MAN IS IMMORTAL AND IMPERISHABLE."