Obituary of Allan Stanley Lutzko

To Watch the Recording of the Service, Please click this link:
https://video.ibm.com/embed/recorded/130870873

Allan passed away peacefully at Oliver Lodge on November 11, 2020 at age 93. Allan was born on the family farm near Goodeve, SK on April 19, 1927, the sixth of seven children of John and Pearl (Pohrebny) Lutzko. Allan is lovingly remembered by: sons, Barry (Olga) and Darrell (Rita); grandchildren, Cassandra, Benjamin, Mitchell, Alexandra and Natasia; sisters, Pauline Schinborn and Rosie Konjolka;  plus, many nieces and nephews. Allan was predeceased by: his wife of 60 years, Mary; parents, John and Pearl; granddaughter, Andrea; and brothers, Nick, Henry, Joseph and Edward.

He grew up on the farm during the Great Depression, made more challenging when he lost a couple of fingers in a farming accident. That didn’t slow him down as he did his share of the chores including helping his dad build a new farmhouse. He reminisced about walking to the local rural one-room school through endless snow drifts, helping his dad to get to and from the barn during a fierce blizzard to feed and check on the animals by stringing a rope up between the house and barn, riding his one-speed bike on dirt and gravel rural roads, once travelling 100 miles in one day, etc. At age 17 he lost his older brother Henry in France during World War II, which, along with the enlistment of his brother Joe in the army, later led Allan to a long involvement as a member and volunteer with the Royal Canadian Legion, taking photos for a variety of events and ceremonies.

He soon left for Saskatoon to attend Business College and then moved to Smiley, SK. to work for Imperial Oil in the drilling site office. He developed an interest in photography during that time which he pursued further when he moved to Regina and teamed up with his future bother-in-law Paul Prisciak to take photos at weddings and other special occasions. When Uncle Paul was dating Irene Olineck (soon to be Irene Prisciak), Irene introduced her sister Mary Olineck to Allan. Allan married Mary on October 11, 1958 at Goodeve, SK.

The following year they moved to Saskatoon where they had their sons Barry (1959) and Darrell (1960). Allan started working for the National Research Council doing photography and drafting which he continued until his retirement in 1986. He got along with everyone and made friends with visiting scientists from many countries and cultures. A new home was built in 1964 with a fully functioning darkroom to be used to help educate his sons on the fine art of photography. As interests changed to color photography the darkroom was turned into a winery and is still in production today. He spent his spare hours being involved in the interests of his two sons such as coaching, volunteering for hockey, baseball, softball, soccer, cubs & scouts and air cadets. He also landscaped the huge yard and garden, developed the basement and built many furniture pieces along with maintaining a large garden every summer. He built the wooden shed in the back yard in 1967, still in use today, which in its early years became the home of a mother skunk after she dug a burrow under it. With the help of his sons he mixed a lot of concrete and built the ornamental “cement pond” in 1969. During that construction, his sons invented the speed bump and experimented the effective use of it on his 1967 Ford car.

There were many road trips throughout Canada to visit relatives, quiet time at various Saskatchewan lakes, a wedding in Australia and Hawaiian getaways after retirement. He took his parents on a tour of the Rocky Mountains and also took his father-in-law there, venturing as far as Hazelton in BC. All were priceless adventures especially visiting with relatives on their farms and building lasting relationships with. Many summers dad and mom would drop their sons off at Uncle Nick’s and/or Uncle Joe’s farm for a week or more. Not sure what they got up to while we were on the farm. Luckily, dad and mom were not aware of some of the farm tales and new found “business opportunities” either.

Allan enjoyed a great retirement with Mary taking care of the huge yard and garden in summer and winter getaways in winter. Over the years the garden got a little smaller and the trips got a little shorter until in 2019 they both moved into the “resort” more well known as Oliver Lodge. With mom passing away shortly after and Covid issues we still made the best of the situation with many permitted festivities especially with wine served for supper meals as a medical requirement, lol. I’m sure dad’s presence there will be remembered by all for a long time as he would always say “Greetings” as he approached others. The care and attention from all of the Oliver Lodge staff can only be described as priceless.

“And now is time for all good men to go to their rest.”

A celebration of Allan’s life will be entrusted to and held at Saskatoon Funeral Home on Friday, September 3, 2021, at 2 p.m. followed by the interment at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens at the Columbarium beside the pond at 3:30 p.m.