Obituary of Roy Verdzak

It is with broken hearts we announce the passing of Roy Verdzak on March 23, 2022 at the age of 75.

Roy was born September 13, 1946 to a young couple just starting up their homestead in Bessborough.  John and Vlasta only had a hand hewn one room log cabin, but Roy had free range of the wide-open spaces.  He grew deep roots to the land along with the trees.

Time came for Roy to start school.  The closest one was in Sunrise Valley, where he made a few friends, but didn’t stay long.  The next school year the Willowbrook School was moved closer to him, and he then went down the road the other way for grades 2-8.  Somewhere about grade 8, he started attending the Clover Leaf 4H Tractor Club and learned all about tractors.  Something that served him well over the years.

As the farm grew, so did the family.  Roy was joined by Linda, Shirley, Dorothy, and Ruth.  Much to Roy’s chagrin, he became the big brother to 4 little sisters that got into a LOT of trouble.

During his time at South Peace Sr. Secondary School, Roy acquired his first car.  A two tone ‘57 Ford Fairlane.  It was his pride and joy until he purchased a blue Chev pickup truck.  From there on in, he was a Chev man all the way!

After high school, Roy attended BCIT for a winter, but he became ill and returned home to complete his courses by correspondence.  Most summers were spent helping with the farming and for the next few years he had some odd jobs.  One winter he worked for the PGE Railway in Chetwynd doing yard and office work. He spent time helping build roads up near Fort Nelson.  He also worked for Frank Dolan who had a BA dealership up there.  His duties included working in the office and driving gas trucks.

After a few years, he had enough money to buy one quarter of land and start his own farming career.  It was a lifelong passion and allowed him to stay and live on the land that he loved.

Roy will be deeply missed by his sisters: Linda (Marvin) Kindermann, Shirley (Stanley) Smithard, Dorothy (Thomas) Tai, Ruth (Dean) Howery, his nieces and nephews: Tyler (Kerry) Kindermann, Tracy (Martin) Spedding, Tyson (Mai) Kindermann, Teresa (David) McCoy, Laura (Nathan) Joyce, Allana (Graeme) Steele, Rachel Tai, Annie and Wesley Howery, and many great nieces and nephews.

You are forever in our hearts until we meet again.

A Funeral Service will be held for Roy at Reynars Funeral Chapel on Friday, April 1, 2022 at 12:00 pm. Following the service, friends are invited to the Bessborough Hall for tea at 2:00 pm. 

For friends so wishing, donations may be made in memory of Roy to the Bessborough Community Hall, c/o Sydney Lazinchuk, PO Box 4, Arras, BC,V0C 1B0.

Very Respectfully, Reynars Funeral Home & Crematorium