Robert Nicholas Pchajek

After a brief illness at the age of 68, Bob passed away with his family at his side.

Bob was born on his sister Jean’s birthday. Mom gave 5-year-old Jean a baby brother for her birthday and she got to name him. The legend of his name as told by Irene was Jean wanted to call him Santa Claus and thus, he became Nicholas but Jean tells a different version. She named him Robert. That’s it. Much to her dismay, everyone very quickly started calling him Bob. Regardless of Irene’s memory from 2 years old or Jean’s 5-year-old memory, one thing is for certain. Bob was, is and will always be Bob the Builder! He was also affectionately known as Albert Einstein because he was so smart and was able to invent things. He also bore a striking resemblance to Albert Einstein as illustrated by Takashi Iwasaki (a friend of Cory & Gigi). This is his legacy: a very reliable son, the best brother, (no offence to the rest of his siblings) World’s greatest Dad, Hero to so many,and a loving and devoted husband to Doreen

How did one tiny little baby become such a presence in so many people’s lives over his life time? Well, that is easy. His heartwas so large that he gave it to everyone. He was kind and compassionate. He made everyone feel at home when they visited. He was generous to a fault and wise beyond his years. His humour was whimsical and off the cuff with a touch of sarcasm but never hurtful. He was playful and fun-loving. He gave of his time so freely but most importantly he helped whoever needed his help. 

At school, Bob was an athlete, enjoying gymnastics the most. He was popular and aside from a horrible grade nine picture, he was handsome. Growing up with 7 other siblings at home was not always easy but he threw a great snowball, built pigeon coups, got up to mischief (ask how he lost his front tooth) and dirt bikes and snow machines provided entertainment for us all. 

Bob married the love of his life at the young age of 20, just 48 years ago. This was not enough time for Doreen and who could blame her for wanting more time with him. There was house building, young children to be raised, first Cory and then Joey and Stacey. Family was everything to him. They lived in Winnipeg until 1989 when they moved out to Ste Anne, MB. The house they had in East Kildonan in Winnipeg was small and needed many repairs so Bob ripped it down to the foundation and started over. All the neighbors watched as the house went up and became twice its original size. Doreen loved the house that he built but as the kids started growing, they decided to move to the country. They thought it would be a better way of life for the kids. When they moved to the country, Bob immediately started building an addition onto the house for Doreen’s Mom and Dad. This would allow Doreen’s dad to retire and not have to worry about rent or mortgage payments. Bob was able to do everything without hiring anyone. He could do plumbing, electrical, carpentry, drywall and anything else. Of course he could, he was Bob the Builder! 

Bob started off working at Inkster Esso which was a service station owned by his brother-in-law Mervin. Next, he worked as a labourer for CP Rail Weston Shops. He then tried out being a semi-trailer driver with his father-in-law, Scotty. He liked driving a semi but he didn’t like being away from Doreen so much which was part of being a long-distance truck driver. At this time Doreen was working as a courier with Bison Transport so Bob thought he’d give that a try. He liked being a parcel delivery driver okay but he knew it wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He then became a floor installer with his brother Fred. He started out as Fred’s helper but it wasn’t longbefore he was one of the best installers in the industry. For a number of years Bob was co-owner of Accent Flooring with friend and colleague Debbie Rebizant. For the last 7 years before retirement Bob was a salaried employee of National Interiors where he inspected the work of the flooring installers and got them to make corrections if necessary. 

Bob and Doreen’s life was not always easy. They lost their daughter Stacey Leanne when she was only 13 years old but this did not knock them down. Together, they became stronger and if at all possible, busier. Bob and Doreen lived in Ste Genevieveand became a huge part of the communities of Richer, Ste. Anne and Steinbach. Bob helped Doreen with the Stacey Pchajek Memorial Foundation which helped so many people over the years providing bursaries and scholarships for students as well as donations to food banks and other nonprofits and charities. They have devoted a lot of time to helping out wherever they could. 

Bob and Doreen loved to host get togethers with family and friends. Whenever Cory and Gigi came home from Hong Kong the family was invited for a visit. Cory has spent the last 20+ years teaching English and living in Hong Kong as that’s where his wife Gigi is from. He would try to come home at least once a year to spend time with the family. Bob looked forward to those visits and spending time with Cory whether it be working on something on the house, ice fishing, going to the lake or hearing about Cory & Gigi’s life in Hong Kong. 

Never swim with Bob unless you like being dunked and skirted with a pool noodle. The littles were always well entertained and the adults were always in stitches and well fed. Uncle Bobby loved to play with his great nephews and nieces.

Bob was the guy to go to if you needed something fixed. The cooler at the bingo hall, a hot tub, your travel trailer, car or snowmobile. Need something re-wired – I know a guy. Bob was the go-to guy for just about anything you needed fixed. This caused a huge network of people who got to know him and began calling him friend. If Bob saw a problem, he saw a solution. There was a Facebook post not long ago. The Bingo Hall sold pull tab tickets that people frequently bought in bunches of ten. Bob bought some plexiglass and built a gizmo (I’m sure that is the word he would have used). Load the tickets in the hopper and from the back push out 10 tickets at a time. No more counting and lick-a-dee split you were on to the next person in line. 

Bob and his brother Fred had always been close and Fred really admired how Bob was able to fix almost anything andeverything. That admiration intensified after Fred suffered a stroke a few years ago and was no longer able to do everything that he could before. Bob would show up and do those things and was more than happy to help. 

Bob was a sportsman. He loved hunting and fishing, especially ice fishing. His favorite place to go was the Whiteshell which is where he asked to have his ashes spread. Bob wished to be memorialized in our memories, not in a cemetery. He preferred for everyone to laugh and remember the good times they shared with him. And he had some crazy adventures. His son Joey recalls moose hunting. One adventure neither Bob nor Joey could forget was when one of Butchy’s buddies came to “rescue” them after they were stranded by Moosehorn with multiple flat tires. Butchy’s buddy was as high as a kite, and both Bob and Joey were scared of his driving. It was an icy evening in December and his buddy failed to slow down while approaching a sharp bend. Both Bob and Joey screamed, “see that turn coming up, right!”. He yelled, “yes”, then went straight into the ditch. Bob still kept up his spirits and laughed about it, even on days like that and boy there were many of those days.Joey has a tattoo of a Grey Jay/Whisky Jack on his arm to memorialize his time spent with his dad. Hunting, fishing, trapping, archery, reloading bullets, target practice and more,Bob has done it all. He also loved to take friends and family out to the range and to the pits. He taught his son Cory how to shoot as well as his son Joey and he’d taken Jenna-Lynn Huff to the pits multiple times

There were so many who passed away before Bob. He was predeceased by his mother, Fern Christena Anderson, his father William Frederick Pchajek, his father-in-law Scotty Smith, his brothers Albert, Morley, Gary and Jonathon and his sister June. His greatest loss was his daughter Stacey whom he loved dearly and missed every day. 

Bob leaves to mourn and is deeply missed by his wife Doreen, sons Cory (Gigi) and Joey and his mother-in-law Alice. Remaining to cherish Bob’s memory are the rest of his siblings, Michael, Jean Vande Ploeg, Fred (Darlyne), Irene (Bruce)Montgomery, Marion (Perry) Yamada, Stanley “Butch”, Fern (Dave) Felske. He was also loved and admired by his in-laws Maureen (Jim) Sullivan, and Colleen (Kent) Dalrymple.

Bob was loved by so many nephews and nieces and their spouses, as well as many great nephews and great nieces. Lastly, Bob had many friends who have been a part of his life and will always have fond memories of him.

 The family would like to thank the staff at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach for their kindness and compassionate care in Bob’s last hours. They would also like to thank everyone who has reached out with wishes of condolences and support.

 Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be held in the spring. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to assist the family with funeral expenses. E-transfers can be made to doreen@rainyday.ca.