Peacefully, on October 28th, 2012, John Frostiak, husband of the late Nellie "June" Frostiak passed away in his 90th year. John was a long-time resident of Cochenour and spent his final years at the Northwood Lodge in Red Lake.
Left behind to honour his memory are his sons John (Marilyn) of Balmertown and David (Leanne) of Cochenour, his grandchildren Michael, Jeffrey, Douglas and Heather all of whom held a special place in his heart. John was predeceased by his loving wife June in 1991, his parents Harry and Pahalia, his brother Bill, and two sisters Nettie and Anne. He is survived by one sister Minnie Dowhaniuk of Richmond Hill, Ont.
Born in 1922 on the family farm in Birch River, Manitoba John was the 4th of 5 children. He received his primary education at the Birch River School. The farm had limited capacity to generate income and when obtaining a secondary education was unaffordable, like many others of that time he ventured out into the working world as a 17 year old teen, riding the rails to western Manitoba, to work during the grain harvest season. In the winter, he cut pulp wood in eastern Manitoba. In 1942 he flew into the Red Lake district where he worked underground for a short time at the McMarmac Mine. He returned home to the farm to help with the harvest as his brother was conscripted into the army. He returned to the Red Lake area and was employed as a miner at the Cochenour Willans Gold Mine for 7-8 years then transferred to the surface where he worked as an equipment operator, then as the Surface foreman until the mine shut down in 1971. For a short time John was employed by the Improvement District of Balmertown. John then joined the Griffith Mine where he worked as an equipment operator in the mining department during operations then on tailings re-vegetation and concentrate loading post closure ending full time employment at the age of 65. He continued working part time for several years loading concentrate at Griffith when required in the summer, working in the assay office in Cochenour, operating equipment for various contractors and doing odd jobs at Keystone Lodge.
In his younger years John played fastball in the summer and curled in the winter well into his senior years. John also served the community as a volunteer fireman in Cochenour for several years.
In 1949, John married June Shewchuk. They loved the outdoors. He and June spent hours working their many vegetable gardens and flowerbeds and travelling the back roads picking berries and mushrooms and harvesting firewood, a tradition he continued after June passed away.
The family wishes to extend a special thank you to the staff at Northwood Lodge for the excellent care and support provided over the years, the medical staff at the Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital who have been called on at various times to provide care and a special thanks to many residents of Cochenour and the district who have provided support and assistance. Thank you all.
Visitation was held from 7:00 to 9:00p.m. at the Herold Funeral Home in Red Lake. A celebration of life was held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday October 31st, at the Herold Funeral Home. A private family interment followed at the Woodland Cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital Foundation or the Northwood Home for the Aged through Herold Funeral Home, Box 237, Red Lake, ON P0V 2M0.

We love you Papa.