Kevin Appleyard

Obituary

Passed on

Kevin Appleyard

December 2, 1962 – April 5, 2017

In the arms of his wife and sons, and surrounded by his family we announce the passing of an amazing Husband and Dad, Kevin Appleyard at Health Science Centre, after a short but very courageous battle with Cancer. Kev is survived by me, Ali his devoted wife of 28 years and our pride and joy, his reason for living and fighting as hard as he did, our sons Conner and Dru & Jenny, whom he loves like a daughter, and his new puppy Rosco. Also left to mourn his loss, is his mother Pat as well as his three brothers Wayne (Cyndi), Larry (Lindy), Vernon (Darlene), his sister-in-laws, Emmy (David), Daisy (Chris), Linda (Wayne), Debbie (Jamie) and their families, as well as his brother-in-laws Teddy (Elaine), Dicky, Johnny (Shelia), Dennis (Shirley) and their families and also numerous aunts, nephews, nieces and friends. Kev was predeceased by his father Don, his twin brother Keith at birth and Lyn his younger brother in 1993, as well as his Mother & Father in law Etola & Theodorous Bakkum, and also his pups Finny and Lucky. Kev and I met in 1987 at my sisters wedding and it was the beginning of our love story. We married 2 years later and had Conner in 1989 and Dru in 1990. We lived in Stonewall for 2 years and then he surprised me with our home in Stony where we still live today. He was an amazing carpenter and taught the boys the art of construction. He, along with his sons and family built our deck and table area composed of a one of a kind, self supporting umbrella that is a topic of conversation to all who visit. Hunting and fishing was Kev’s other passion, which he passed on to his boys, it didn’t matter if it was partridge, goose, deer or moose that they were going for it was always about the time spent together. The three of them had gone on numerous adventures and had great conversations that made the 3 of them best friends. The fishing trips they went on, whether it was the fly-in trips or the ones where they slept in the truck just to get into that one special lake are memories that will carry us through. Kev was an extremely hard worker with exceptional mechanical aptitude. He was the go to guy in the family and seemed to know how to, or would attempt to, fix, improve or replace almost anything. He loved to work with, and was a very skillful heavy equipment operator. Kev along with Conner & Dru ran a very successful Backhoe & Trucking company. In addition to his backhoe business Kev was co-owner of Westside Plaza with his brother Larry at the time of passing. At 9 am Monday to Friday you knew where Kev would be, having coffee with his brothers and “being an armchair general manager” of the Winnipeg Jets. Kev was best of friends with his 3 remaining brothers. Kev loved to play hockey and was an exceptional player but it was coaching both of his sons that he was most proud of. The boys say he had the best speeches between the 2nd and 3rd periods. We had many great times as a family and also with extended family. From our annual fishing and camping trips, to Thanksgivings at the Whiteshell for a bit more fishing and hunting to tide us over till ice fishing started. Also, of course, the impromptu bonfires where the best conversations were had. Kev was amazed and often commented how surprised and very happy it made him that his boys still wanted to hang out with him. It was Kev’s wishes that there be no funeral, a private family gathering will be held in his honour. In lieu of flowers, if so desired, please donate in Kev’s name to The Canadian Diabetes Association or Cancer Care Manitoba. Thank you to our families for coming together and supporting us through this difficult time. Special thank you to Vern for his pharmaceutical expertise, to Dr. Graham and the Nurses at Stonewall Hospital, to Dr. Wong and Linda at Cancer Care, to all the Doctors and Nurses at HSC, especially Dr. Mohammad Zarrabian and to Ken Loehmer.

“At 10pm I will look at the stars, night babe, love you.”

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