Obituary for Yuris Pele
YURIS PELE
Yuris Pele, passed away at the age of 72. He spent two weeks in the ICU in Merida, Yuc. Mexico, accompanied by two of his children who travelled there to support him in his time of need. In mid-December 2022 he was repatriated by air ambulance. He spent over six weeks in hospital in Canada at Health Sciences Centre (HSC), then in palliative care in Hospital in Stonewall, MB where he died of natural causes. Dad would be humbled to have you reading this, in his honour, so thank you for taking the time. Dad had many achievements over his lifetime: He was a smart, hard-working individual, he was a family man and he just loved animals so much.
His work ethic was instilled in him early. As a son, he followed in his father’s footsteps working in construction at an early age. He worked for his dad, then his brother and eventually forged his own path through the world of construction. He would pickup and move to a new city where work was available. He seemed to enjoy the challenge of a new job site, or a new role. He often found himself at odds with superiors who tried to skirt the rules and he had no trouble standing up for what he thought was right. He taught us all to stand up for that in which we believe.
Moving around was just the nature of the job, and the nature of a man who couldn’t sit still for long anyway. After retirement he continued to plan projects both big and small. From constructing a deck to building three houses out in rural Manitoba, he always had something on the go. Within his home, he had a knack for organizing and also excelled at furniture placement. Which may sound like an odd accolade, but he could walk into a room and just know how it should be setup, which always astounded us. In that way, he could often see what others couldn’t.
In more recent years he focused on his construction in Mexico during the winter months and working on his seasonal trailer site out at Spruce Sands on Lake Winnipeg in the summer. He loved his life spent 50/50 between Mexico and Manitoba. He couldn’t adequately express how happy it made him to have his days full of sunshine and warmth, no matter where he was.
* * * * *
In 1977 his eldest daughter, Ange, was born. Followed by Darren in 1979, Kristen in 1985 and Kristy in 1994. He was blessed with the opportunity to parent under a few different circumstances and he always came out ahead. His success as a parent meant our success as his children. He was such a good Dad. He wanted us to get along and to love each other. He understood the importance of fair treatment and always tried his best to treat us all equally. As the years went on, his family grew to include grandchildren (Emma, Lara, Josh, Paige, Lukas, Maddy and William) and most recently in September of 2022, his first great-grandchild Naël.
He was loving and nurturing, but never wanted to enable us. One of his primary goals was to build our strength and independence. When I, Kristen, was 8 or 9 I was tasked with learning to do the dishes. As a family we cleaned the kitchen every night after supper and we couldn’t go elsewhere until it was all completely cleaned. I hated putting my bare hands in the warm food-water which housed the dirty dishes. I begged him to just let me be the one to dry the dishes – I didn’t want to wash. He heard my pleas – and still he made me do the dishes – but he bought me rubber dish gloves to make the process a little easier. It was little things like that. Little things like putting us to sleep at night. Ange remembers Dad rubbing her back while singing “eye-eye Joo-joo” (actual name: aija zuzu, laca berni) a Latvian lullaby of which we couldn’t understand, but loved to hear him sing nonetheless.
Very recently he told me that he loved to make his kids laugh and he was always trying to be funny and goofy for us to see. Darren told me about a trip to Mexico where they were at the grocery store and finding themselves at a loss for translation. In trying to clarify if the item was indeed chicken, Dad asked, “Pollo?!” while flapping his wings and bobbing his head and clucking in his best rendition of what turned out to be, yes, chicken. Later he could be found snorting to confirm if something was pork.
His humour… Anyone who knew Dad could appreciate he was a pretty easy-going guy who really loved to joke around. No jokes were off limit, and he was really good at reading the room. It was never his intention to be off-side. Even in his final weeks he made some great jokes that will last in my memory forever. I think making people laugh was one of his greatest joys in life.
He was smart, too. An avid reader for as long as I could remember. When his eyesight failed him and he could no longer read books in print, he switched to audiobooks. He could be seen with his MP3 player, ear buds in at anytime of day. He rarely skipped a book even if it wasn’t to his liking. He loved talk radio and absorbed the news with the interest and understanding of a scholar. Talk radio… I think about it now with admiration, but we weren’t admiring it as kids when we had to listen to CBC radio in the car during any length of road trip. “When you start driving, you can choose what we listen to.” He would always say. Perhaps followed by, “this isn’t a democracy” if we continued to complain. Over the span of his life he was familiar with 5 languages: English and Latvian which he spoke fluently, French and Spanish which he knew enough to get by both in speaking and comprehension and bits and pieces of Latin which he learned in school. He loved words, too. I was advising a group of visitors at Dad’s bedside about my Dictionary.com ‘Word of the Day’ PANDICULATION to which he responded – to our surprise – by outstretching his arms. I looked at the definition and confirmed he was correct, then asked him how he knew because I had no idea. He just replied that he was smart - and that I didn’t know disco.
Dad was a bit of a loner, and that suited him just fine. When he wanted company he would pick up his phone and call any number of call-recipients. Years ago that would be his sister Laila or his brother Andy. And he always made a point to speak with his children. He laughed because we would usually reach out to him within a day of each other. I’d call and he’d tell me how he already spoke to Darren and Kristy that day so now he was just going to wait for Ange to call. And she would. We loved calling him. Chatting with him. Sometimes about something, more often about nothing. He was a good guy to chat with, as I’m sure you all know.
Although he fancied himself a lone wolf (my words, not his), he had friendships that lasted years and years. Usually people he met through work in some way or another. There was Darrell and Lorne and Travis and Janos. Elmer was a dear friend of his and Jerry as well. I think my Dad’s favourite time was when he was building houses when Elmer was building as well. It was his highlight to see what Elmer came up with – he always had great things to say about Elmer’s builds. I believe they all enjoyed the night life too, as younger men back in the day. Most recently, a visit to Jerry got Dad in trouble with his children. He had gone to visit Jerry’s place and stayed for hours, enjoying himself in wonderful company. As any polite person would do, he left his cell phone in the car. As Dad had admonished us many, many times over the years, he was now guilty himself of ‘not telling anyone where he would be!’ I was about 20 min from his trailer, going to check on him after hours of not one of his children hearing from him, when I received his call. He knew he was in trouble and was calling to check in. He told me all about his day…He had such a lovely time, it was hard to be mad at him.
He made fast friends with his neighbours at the trailer. And he was fortunate, and made it very clear he knew of his good fortune, when people like R&S would bring him groceries or treats. Or when neighbours like G and C&C would help him in the numerous ways they did. And all of the other thoughtful things his friends and neighbours would do to help him out. Due to his impaired vision, Dad couldn’t see who he was waving at, but he always made sure to give a good wave when anyone passed by on the road.
Dad’s greatest joy in life these past few years were his animals. He, like his father before him, was an animal lover. His dedication to the deer at his trailer site was incomparable. His grocery budget from May to October was probably 60% for the animals and 40% for himself. Daily he would cut up carrots and apples – multiple times, for that matter – for the deer to eat. And there was always a large bowl full of bird seed for any animal to snack on. He had cat food out for the cats and one sly fox. And also, what we later learned with the help of trail cams, were some bumbly raccoons who would eat the cat food and then break into his gazebo by prying the tarp-roof off at one corner to steal whatever they could get their hands on inside the gazebo itself. It all cracked Dad up. He was amazed by how the animals all interacted with eachother. Squirrels jumping from tree to tree, birds “arguing” over birdseed, Dad breaking up scuffles between deer, like they were his own children. In Mexico he took care of a clowder of cats and one dog who would come to visit to clean up the cat’s scraps. But most of all, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Simba. He loved that dog so much. He took Sim with him anywhere he could. There is a special bond between man and his dog, and Dad and Simba were the epitome of that.
Although I barely touched the surface of his life and all that he did, I hope I have done justice in showing what a great man my Dad was. We are proud to be the children of Yuris Pele. I hope you all know how much you meant to him. I hope that you read this today holding him strong in your heart and with memories that make you smile… and better yet, memories that make you laugh. If you can do that, then his job here, is done. And to you, Dad: We love you so much and I hope that your days still continue to be full of both sunshine and warmth.
Our Father with the gentle soul
Tiny footsteps filled your heart
You scooped us up one by one
You showed us the power of love
Our father with a gentle soul
You never left our side
Always there when we needed you
The life lessons you taught us
Our father with a gentle soul
Singing, playing and house hold chores
Working as a single dad
You never gave up and showed your strength
Our father with a gentle soul
We all grew up You were there with us
You saw your family expand
You welcomed each new face
Our father and grandfather with a gentle soul
It came your time for us to help you
We took care of you like you did us
The tears have shed but we have learned love from you
Sleep sweet our Father with a gentle soul
Poem written by Ange Pele, daughter
Yuris Pele, passed away at the age of 72. He spent two weeks in the ICU in Merida, Yuc. Mexico, accompanied by two of his children who travelled there to support him in his time of need. In mid-December 2022 he was repatriated by air ambulance. He spent over six weeks in hospital in Canada at Health Sciences Centre (HSC), then in palliative care in Hospital in Stonewall, MB where he died of natural causes. Dad would be humbled to have you reading this, in his honour, so thank you for taking the time. Dad had many achievements over his lifetime: He was a smart, hard-working individual, he was a family man and he just loved animals so much.
His work ethic was instilled in him early. As a son, he followed in his father’s footsteps working in construction at an early age. He worked for his dad, then his brother and eventually forged his own path through the world of construction. He would pickup and move to a new city where work was available. He seemed to enjoy the challenge of a new job site, or a new role. He often found himself at odds with superiors who tried to skirt the rules and he had no trouble standing up for what he thought was right. He taught us all to stand up for that in which we believe.
Moving around was just the nature of the job, and the nature of a man who couldn’t sit still for long anyway. After retirement he continued to plan projects both big and small. From constructing a deck to building three houses out in rural Manitoba, he always had something on the go. Within his home, he had a knack for organizing and also excelled at furniture placement. Which may sound like an odd accolade, but he could walk into a room and just know how it should be setup, which always astounded us. In that way, he could often see what others couldn’t.
In more recent years he focused on his construction in Mexico during the winter months and working on his seasonal trailer site out at Spruce Sands on Lake Winnipeg in the summer. He loved his life spent 50/50 between Mexico and Manitoba. He couldn’t adequately express how happy it made him to have his days full of sunshine and warmth, no matter where he was.
* * * * *
In 1977 his eldest daughter, Ange, was born. Followed by Darren in 1979, Kristen in 1985 and Kristy in 1994. He was blessed with the opportunity to parent under a few different circumstances and he always came out ahead. His success as a parent meant our success as his children. He was such a good Dad. He wanted us to get along and to love each other. He understood the importance of fair treatment and always tried his best to treat us all equally. As the years went on, his family grew to include grandchildren (Emma, Lara, Josh, Paige, Lukas, Maddy and William) and most recently in September of 2022, his first great-grandchild Naël.
He was loving and nurturing, but never wanted to enable us. One of his primary goals was to build our strength and independence. When I, Kristen, was 8 or 9 I was tasked with learning to do the dishes. As a family we cleaned the kitchen every night after supper and we couldn’t go elsewhere until it was all completely cleaned. I hated putting my bare hands in the warm food-water which housed the dirty dishes. I begged him to just let me be the one to dry the dishes – I didn’t want to wash. He heard my pleas – and still he made me do the dishes – but he bought me rubber dish gloves to make the process a little easier. It was little things like that. Little things like putting us to sleep at night. Ange remembers Dad rubbing her back while singing “eye-eye Joo-joo” (actual name: aija zuzu, laca berni) a Latvian lullaby of which we couldn’t understand, but loved to hear him sing nonetheless.
Very recently he told me that he loved to make his kids laugh and he was always trying to be funny and goofy for us to see. Darren told me about a trip to Mexico where they were at the grocery store and finding themselves at a loss for translation. In trying to clarify if the item was indeed chicken, Dad asked, “Pollo?!” while flapping his wings and bobbing his head and clucking in his best rendition of what turned out to be, yes, chicken. Later he could be found snorting to confirm if something was pork.
His humour… Anyone who knew Dad could appreciate he was a pretty easy-going guy who really loved to joke around. No jokes were off limit, and he was really good at reading the room. It was never his intention to be off-side. Even in his final weeks he made some great jokes that will last in my memory forever. I think making people laugh was one of his greatest joys in life.
He was smart, too. An avid reader for as long as I could remember. When his eyesight failed him and he could no longer read books in print, he switched to audiobooks. He could be seen with his MP3 player, ear buds in at anytime of day. He rarely skipped a book even if it wasn’t to his liking. He loved talk radio and absorbed the news with the interest and understanding of a scholar. Talk radio… I think about it now with admiration, but we weren’t admiring it as kids when we had to listen to CBC radio in the car during any length of road trip. “When you start driving, you can choose what we listen to.” He would always say. Perhaps followed by, “this isn’t a democracy” if we continued to complain. Over the span of his life he was familiar with 5 languages: English and Latvian which he spoke fluently, French and Spanish which he knew enough to get by both in speaking and comprehension and bits and pieces of Latin which he learned in school. He loved words, too. I was advising a group of visitors at Dad’s bedside about my Dictionary.com ‘Word of the Day’ PANDICULATION to which he responded – to our surprise – by outstretching his arms. I looked at the definition and confirmed he was correct, then asked him how he knew because I had no idea. He just replied that he was smart - and that I didn’t know disco.
Dad was a bit of a loner, and that suited him just fine. When he wanted company he would pick up his phone and call any number of call-recipients. Years ago that would be his sister Laila or his brother Andy. And he always made a point to speak with his children. He laughed because we would usually reach out to him within a day of each other. I’d call and he’d tell me how he already spoke to Darren and Kristy that day so now he was just going to wait for Ange to call. And she would. We loved calling him. Chatting with him. Sometimes about something, more often about nothing. He was a good guy to chat with, as I’m sure you all know.
Although he fancied himself a lone wolf (my words, not his), he had friendships that lasted years and years. Usually people he met through work in some way or another. There was Darrell and Lorne and Travis and Janos. Elmer was a dear friend of his and Jerry as well. I think my Dad’s favourite time was when he was building houses when Elmer was building as well. It was his highlight to see what Elmer came up with – he always had great things to say about Elmer’s builds. I believe they all enjoyed the night life too, as younger men back in the day. Most recently, a visit to Jerry got Dad in trouble with his children. He had gone to visit Jerry’s place and stayed for hours, enjoying himself in wonderful company. As any polite person would do, he left his cell phone in the car. As Dad had admonished us many, many times over the years, he was now guilty himself of ‘not telling anyone where he would be!’ I was about 20 min from his trailer, going to check on him after hours of not one of his children hearing from him, when I received his call. He knew he was in trouble and was calling to check in. He told me all about his day…He had such a lovely time, it was hard to be mad at him.
He made fast friends with his neighbours at the trailer. And he was fortunate, and made it very clear he knew of his good fortune, when people like R&S would bring him groceries or treats. Or when neighbours like G and C&C would help him in the numerous ways they did. And all of the other thoughtful things his friends and neighbours would do to help him out. Due to his impaired vision, Dad couldn’t see who he was waving at, but he always made sure to give a good wave when anyone passed by on the road.
Dad’s greatest joy in life these past few years were his animals. He, like his father before him, was an animal lover. His dedication to the deer at his trailer site was incomparable. His grocery budget from May to October was probably 60% for the animals and 40% for himself. Daily he would cut up carrots and apples – multiple times, for that matter – for the deer to eat. And there was always a large bowl full of bird seed for any animal to snack on. He had cat food out for the cats and one sly fox. And also, what we later learned with the help of trail cams, were some bumbly raccoons who would eat the cat food and then break into his gazebo by prying the tarp-roof off at one corner to steal whatever they could get their hands on inside the gazebo itself. It all cracked Dad up. He was amazed by how the animals all interacted with eachother. Squirrels jumping from tree to tree, birds “arguing” over birdseed, Dad breaking up scuffles between deer, like they were his own children. In Mexico he took care of a clowder of cats and one dog who would come to visit to clean up the cat’s scraps. But most of all, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Simba. He loved that dog so much. He took Sim with him anywhere he could. There is a special bond between man and his dog, and Dad and Simba were the epitome of that.
Although I barely touched the surface of his life and all that he did, I hope I have done justice in showing what a great man my Dad was. We are proud to be the children of Yuris Pele. I hope you all know how much you meant to him. I hope that you read this today holding him strong in your heart and with memories that make you smile… and better yet, memories that make you laugh. If you can do that, then his job here, is done. And to you, Dad: We love you so much and I hope that your days still continue to be full of both sunshine and warmth.
Our Father with the gentle soul
Tiny footsteps filled your heart
You scooped us up one by one
You showed us the power of love
Our father with a gentle soul
You never left our side
Always there when we needed you
The life lessons you taught us
Our father with a gentle soul
Singing, playing and house hold chores
Working as a single dad
You never gave up and showed your strength
Our father with a gentle soul
We all grew up You were there with us
You saw your family expand
You welcomed each new face
Our father and grandfather with a gentle soul
It came your time for us to help you
We took care of you like you did us
The tears have shed but we have learned love from you
Sleep sweet our Father with a gentle soul
Poem written by Ange Pele, daughter