James Gyug

Eulogy for James Gyug
If you were asked to describe the qualities of a good life, what we all hope for in our own time here on Earth - a long, loving marriage, the love and respect of our children, an abundance of time spent with friends and loved ones, a long and happy retirement - it wouldn’t be long before you would find yourself describing the life of my Grandpa Gyug. The more we look at my grandfather’s life, the more we see just how much he was blessed, and how fortunate we were to have him with us as long as we did. To pass away at the age of ninety-eight and leave your family grief-stricken is a testimony to the quality of the man, the strength of his character, how much he was loved and how much he will be missed. To live in your own home all those years, still entertaining visitors and tending your garden and living an independent life, is no less than remarkable. If you measured a man’s wealth according to how much he was loved than Grandpa Gyug was a wealthy man by anyone’s standards. Looking around this church, at the tearful faces gathered here today, you can see just how deeply my grandfather was loved, what a profound impact he had on his friends and family. The loved ones he has left behind will remember him often and will keep his memory strong in our hearts. I know in the years to come, whenever family gathers together, we will talk about him and remember him, tell stories, and in remembering, the ache in our hearts might lessen.
We look at the life Grandpa Gyug lived, just shy of a century, with wonder, admiration and respect. It is difficult to imagine all that he went through, all that he experienced in his long life. To be born the same year the Titanic sank, to be a child during World War One and eighteen years old at the start of the Great Depression, we can only imagine all the changes Grandpa saw in the world. He belonged to a generation where hard work was a fact of life and your good name was everything, where your word and a handshake were stronger than any contract. He was a man of integrity and character, the likes of which you would be hard pressed to find today. We know one thing with certainty: he was a happy, content man. While still in his twenties, he found the love of his life and enjoyed over seventy years with his wife, Mary - Grandma Gyug - who loved him deeply. To watch them together, whether it was playing endless hands of canasta or gliding across a dance floor, perfectly in sync with each other, adding to one another’s stories (and by this I mean Grandma Gyug finishing grandpa’s sentences for him) or just sitting side-by-side watching a baseball game, was to see what true love looked like. As a couple, they were the heart of the Gyug family. Wherever they were we knew there would be laughter and stories, wonderful food and card-playing and, for many years, dancing. My grandfather raised five boys who stand here today as successful, happy men, in no small measure because of the love and guidance James provided for them. He was a wonderful mix of outside gentleness and inner strength, a perfect grandpa, father and husband.
Because of his soft, gentle nature, it was easy for people to misjudge Grandpa Gyug in his later years and believe he may not be fully aware of all that was going on around him. Anyone who doubted his faculties need only sit at a card table with him. God help you if you took too long deciding what to do or made a move he didn’t approve of. His cards strategy and strong math skills stayed with him until the end. Ask grandpa if he had something in his garage, a space that may seem cluttered and disorganized to the untrained observer - a certain bolt, a type of pliers, an odd-shaped washer - and it wouldn’t be long before grandpa would emerge from the garage with the object in hand. How he kept track of everything in the garage, never mind the deep freeze, was amazing. He spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, but for those of us willing to lean into that voice and listen, he told wonderful stories and jokes - stories of favourite dogs, of customers at the shop, of his own father, an original homesteader, of life on the farm, of first meeting the love of his life, Mary, of his boys playing baseball and hockey. No matter what the story, Mary was waiting to add a detail, remind him of a missing thread, to reminisce along with him. There are so many images of grandpa that are etched in our hearts, moments with him that will stay with us forever: I can see him stooped over in his garden inspecting vegetables, picking out the best ones to send home with you, driving his grandchildren and great grandchildren around on his lawn tractor, pouring sugar, spoonful after spoonful, into his coffee (there never seemed to be enough sugar in the house for grandpa’s coffee) his brightly smiling, pale blue eyes, his card trick about the four judges, his quick, bright smile, how distinguished he looked in his Sunday suit-and-tie, his lifelong love of dogs and, especially, horses.
As the German writer, Goethe, said, “It is not doing the thing we like to do, but liking the thing we have to do, that makes life blessed.” My grandfather spent his lifetime making even the difficult tasks easy because he so loved the life God had blessed him with.
Grandpa lived a blessed life.

My Deepest Sympathy at this very sad time to the Gyug family on the passing of your Husband, Father and Grandfather.

Marcelline (Hustak) Osmak

My thoughts and prayers are with all of the family.

My deepest sympathy to the family.