Winston Cerniuk
1945-2024
Winston Cerniuk was born in Endeavor, Saskatchewan on November 19, 1945. He was the second youngest of 16 children who all learned Romanian from their mother and Ukrainian from their father. He moved to Ontario for 2 years in grade 6 to help his older sister with her family then returned to the farm and graduated from Sturgis High School. Outside of school he worked hard helping his father on the farm, and he worked on other local farms with his brother, Eddie, in the summers. After graduating, he moved to Saskatoon and worked as a roofer and there he met Helen. They married and had two children, Shannon (Ken) and Stacey (Lindsey) when Winston was in his early 20s. When Winston was 24, they moved to BC and he started his own roofing business. He lived in Surrey for the next 31 years. During this time, he changed careers twice, first to excavating/ drain tile and then to house builder/contractor. He met and fell in love with Shirley Whittingstall in 1988 and gained two step sons, Kevin (Sharon) and Randy (Catherine). In 2000, Shirley and Winston fulfilled their dream of island life and moved to Gabriola full-time. They took a year off work and built their dream home then Winston resumed his builder/contractor business, Shirwin Construction, and built 36 houses on the island before retiring. They became members of Gabriola Golf Club and Gabriola Yacht Club where they met many friends. Winston loved to play pool and hosted mens’ pool nights amongst all the other parties at their home. He loved to entertain, loved his friends dearly, and loved to invite everyone over for dinner. The dinner table was always full of people at all occasions. Winston adored his family and was so proud of his grandchildren Jessica, Annica, Alex, Beck and Cohen, and great grandson, Theo. Winston passed away at Nanaimo Hospital on May 9th with his wife Shirley, his children, and his grandchildren surrounding him sharing special stories of their times together over the years. Winston will be missed immensely and forever remembered by his family and many friends. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Gabriola Golf Club on July 13th, 1-4pm. Please RSVP to scerniuk@yahoo.com.
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