Steve Evoniuk, Jr., 82, of rural Belfield, passed away on Monday October 18, 2010 while tending to his herd with his faithful companion, Blaze, at his side. Steve’s Mass of Christian Burial will be at 3 p.m. Thursday, October 21, 2010 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Dickinson with Father Todd Kreitinger as celebrant, and Fr. Casimir Paluck and Fr. Russ Kovash as con-celebrants. Burial will take place Friday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan at 10 a.m. MDT. Military honors will be provided by the Belfield American Legion, William C. Blair Post #144, following the mass. Visitation will be Wednesday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m. with a rosary and vigil at 7 p.m. with Deacon Ron Keller presiding and will continue Thursday beginning at 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. at Ladbury Funeral Service.
Steve was born September 10, 1928 to Steve and Mary (Strilchuk) Evoniuk at Belfield. He attended school in rural Belfield and helped out on the family farm. Steve entered the US Army in 1950 and served in the Korean Conflict after which he was honorably discharged in 1952. After his discharge he returned to the family farm and on May 31, 1958 Steve married Hattie Sprynczynatyk at Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church, Wilton. Together they made their home on the family farm where they were blessed with and raised their four children and continued to reside there until his death.
Although Steve had worked in various jobs in the oilfield, farming and ranching was his life, work, and passion. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather and was dedicated to his faith in God. One of his most notable attributes was his humility and positive outlook. No matter how gray the sky appeared to be, he never got angry but would share a grin and continue on. Many lessons have been learned from this and will continue to guide those that loved him, forever.
Steve is survived by his loving wife of 52 years, Hattie; four children, LaDel (Pam) Evoniuk, Belfield, LaMont Evoniuk, Grand Junction, Colo., LuAnn (Ken) Solberg, Belfield, and LaRae (Allan) Kudrna, Dickinson; seven grandchildren, Christopher (Courtney), Ashlynn, and Lexi Evoniuk, Dani and Rachael Solberg, Karter and Kyler Kudrna; two brothers Walter and August, and one sister, Cecelia (Oscar) Miller.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one daughter-in-law, Lori Evoniuk; eight sisters and three brothers.
