Steve Terry Kwasnitza

Steve Terry Kwasnitza was born February 12, 1939 in Theodore, Saskatchewan. He was the fourth child of George and Pauline Kwasnitza with siblings Sylvia, Orest, Mervin and Lyle. As a young boy raised on the farm, he learned to work hard at a very early age and continued this practice right up until his last years. Other than work, mischief was a big part of his life as a young boy and he always shared many stories and fond memories of those early days.

In the early to mid fifties, the family moved to Wadena where George bought a delivery service and then went on to purchase what was G.K. Day and Night Service. Steve and his brother Mervin often slept in the garage at night as it was a 24 hour service in those days. Steve would say that when the bell rang, him and his brother would fight to see who would have to get up and service the car. He would say he ended up with the short end of the stick in most of those battles.

As a teenager, Steve joined the famed Wadena Wildcats at the age of 15. He went on to become one of the best players the town has ever produced. Steve won many awards playing hockey such a league MVP, Top Scorer, Most Gentlemanly player. Over the years, he won these awards many times over. But if you ever talked to him about his hockey playing days, he was quick to point out that he was as good a dancer as he was a hockey player.

In 1977, Steve took over G.K. Service and ran it for over 40 years. His fortitude and work ethic during this time was outstanding and rarely matched. He was always there. In the early 80's he won awards from Esso including selling the most gas as an operator in his district 3 years in a row. This area also included Yorkton. This was not overlooked by Imperial Oil and they opted to build a new station on the site which included a car wash. Steve saw it all come and go from that station. The stories are endless. He had customers that started off as children buying candy, growing into teens and on to adulthood raising families and still remaining loyal customers.

Steve was also an avid outdoorsman and hunter. He often guided Americans on goose and duck hunts in which he also became close friends with and kept in touch over the years. He loved nature. Steve and his wife Karen would often go for drives out in the country or camp overnight at the farm in their trailer.

Steve had a big heart and looked at the unfortunate with understanding. He believed in honesty and doing the right thing no matter how hard. He was one of those people that had really "been there done that" and could relate to people of many different walks of life. He believed in being fair and treating people with respect. His life was filled with endless tales about the people and places and situations he'd been in, many were humorous in which he would start laughing as he told them. He had a great sense of humor. Steve loved to tell these stories, he never missed a chance to do so.

He loved his family and friends. He loved life itself. He will be missed.