Obituary of Pat West

Pat West passed away peacefully with family by her side on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 at Sherbrooke Community Centre.  We are comforted to know that she is no longer in pain and is now home in heaven with her true love, Mike.

Pat was born in 1949 to Steve and Frances Danchak. Her early years were spent on the family farm near Smuts, SK where she attended the Delina Farm School. When she reminisced about life on the farm, Pat shared stories about riding the horses to school, functioning without running water, home cooking with fresh garden vegetables and dill, and making traditional Ukrainian meals and desserts.  She sometimes joked about the pet goat who got into the house and ate her mother’s drapes! Farm life shifted to city living as the family moved to Saskatoon, and Pat attended St. Michael’s and later Sion Academy.

As a teenager Pat began work at the A & W Restaurant on 8^th Street. It was there that she caught the eye of Mike West, who noticed her sweeping the parking lot one night and offered to help.  The two hit it off and enjoyed time together at dances and parties, eventually marrying in 1969. They raised three children together: Kyle, Justin, and Kirstin. Over the years, Pat and Mike enjoyed time with family, close friends and neighbours. Some of their happiest times we spent outdoors. They started out with a canvas tent nicknamed “The Tuscan”, moving on to a small camping trailer, later renting a cabin at Waskesiu’s Baker’s Bungalows each summer, and finally purchasing a cabin at Meeting Lake, where they enjoyed hosting their children and grandchildren. We like to think that Pat and Mike are sitting on a deck somewhere together with their puppy Cody, watching the sunset over a lake.  

Many people in Saskatoon will know Pat from her years as a cashier at Safeway. She worked at a number of locations, retiring from the Safeway at Circle Centre, near the family home in Wildwood. Whenever she was out and about, inevitably someone would recognize her familiar face and stop to say hello.  She made many friends while at Safeway and got to know countless customers from the community.

Pat, affectionately known as Baba, will be remembered for her amazing cooking and baking, her Sunday dinners, her laughter, and her love of family. She particularly enjoyed hosting and attending holiday gatherings and celebrations, and one of her favorite pastimes was attending her grandchildren’s activities. The visits and snuggles from her grand puppies Rider, Lucy, George, Claire and Ruby, always brightened her day and she was forever asking about them.

Pat is lovingly remembered by her children Kyle West, Justin (Crystal) West, Kirstin (Morgan) Edwards, and her grandchildren, Connor, Makinley, Kaiden, Denhem, Evan and Paige. She is also survived by her sister Arlene Oleksyn and brother Wayne Danchak, brother and sister-in-law Peter and Brenda West, sister-in-law Sandra Danchak, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.  Pat was predeceased by the love of her life Michael West (2011), her parents Steve and Frances Danchak, her father and mother-in-law John and Molly West, her brother Johnny Danchak, brother Wally Danchak, and brother-in-law Mike Oleksyn.

Thank you to “Pat’s Girls” at Trinity Manor for their friendship and care over the past two and a half years, and to Sherbrooke Community Centre staff and residents of Varsity View neighbourhood for welcoming and supporting Pat in her final days.

A Vigil of Prayer will be held on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 7 p.m. followed by a time for visiting and refreshments. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. followed by interment at Woodlawn Cemetery. Both services will be at St. Augustine Parish (602 Boychuk Dr). Please consider wearing something red, Pat’s favorite colour. Donations in her memory may be made to Sherbrooke Foundation https://www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca/get-involved/donate/