October 26, 1925 – July 9, 2020

Our Dad, Gabe (Gabor, Gabriel) Nyeste passed away on July 9^th. He was born in Kipling Saskatchewan on or around October 26^th, 1925.  (His birth wasn’t registered until the following spring, so they couldn’t remember the exact date).  Both of his parents were of Hungarian descent.

He will be greatly missed by his 5 children Bob (Lynne), Bruce (Laura), Ian (Linda, deceased), Rick (Kerry Dunkley), Laura (Dave Levy), 8 grandchildren, Corallea (Shawn Mueller), Dale (Mel), Grant (Chelsea), Marie (Paul Lambert), Marcia (Matthew Boyd), Gabrielle (Jordan Bamford), Mark Levy (Sabrina), Heather (Mark Bobrownik) and 9 great-grandchildren.

He led a very full life. He was married to his first wife, Joan for over 52 years. After Mom passed away, he married Helen Cole, and he gained five step-daughters.  Dad was one of thirteen siblings, and is survived by his older sister, Margaret Leboe from Vernon.

His family left the Prairies. They moved to Burns Lake in 1938.  They travelled by boxcar, with the boys in the front, and the cattle in the back.  His sisters did not travel with them.  He worked as a sawmiller for many years. He met and married our Mom, Joan, who was a nurse at the Burns Lake hospital.  Bob and Bruce were born in Burns Lake.  From there, Dad helped with construction, and later worked in the smelter at Alcan in Kitimat.  Ian, Rick, and Laura were born there.

In 1962, after hearing about the education system in New Zealand, they emigrated by ship, and moved to Wiri while they built a house in Manurewa. We lived there for 7 years, where he worked several different jobs, including working in a glass works plant, and as a school janitor.  Ian, Rick and Laura performed in a Maori club, where they did native dancing, while Dad drove bus, and Mom was the secretary of the group.

Then we moved to Invercargill, where Dad worked at another Aluminum smelter that was just starting up.  He was sent to Tasmania for 6 months to be trained, but spent more time training them, as he had a lot of experience from working at Alcan in Kitimat.  Later, Mom and Dad bought a corner store, that they ran for several years.  From there, we moved to Thames, where dad worked in a sawmill for a few years. He also worked as a test-driver for new Datsun cars that were produced in Thames.

In 1978, Dad, Mom and Laura emigrated back to Canada, moving to Kamloops.  His son, Bob, and family were already living in Kamloops.  The rest of the family followed over the next few years.  From Kamloops, Mom and Dad moved to Sorrento.  After Mom passed away, Dad remarried.  He later moved to Spallumcheen, Armstrong, Vernon, and finally back to Kamloops.

Dad never stayed home. Maybe he had gypsy in his blood. He loved to explore wherever he lived.  Whenever he had a weekend off, we checked out a new area.  Mom and Dad travelled as much as they could.  Dad loved to go camping, and fishing, especially with his second wife, Helen, who passed away in 2016, after being hospitalized in 2013. Dad went to visit her nearly every day until she passed.  Dad still came camping with us until 2015.  He would have been 89.  His sister, Margaret was also with us, and turned 91 on this trip.  Dad loved to bowl. He also loved to go to the casino.  He was still bowling in a league, with his sister until he was 92.

Thank you to Dr. Bonnie Henry for opening visiting to long-term care homes, allowing most of us to visit Dad and say our final “Goodbye, we love you”.  Also, thank you to the staff at Chartwell Carrington Place Retirement Residence in Vernon, the Interior Health home-care staff in Vernon, and the staff at Pine Grove Care Centre in Kamloops for the excellent care given to Dad.   There will be no service at this time, due to CoVid 19.  The family will be doing a private memorial, at a later date.

• Date : 2020-07-09
• Location : Kamloops, BC