Peter John Zaparynuk, 88, of Big Sandy, a retired bar owner and Army veteran, died of natural causes, Tuesday, September 30, 2008, at his home in Big Sandy.
His funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Margaret Mary’s Catholic Church in Big Sandy followed by burial with military honors in the Big Sandy Cemetery. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. Pete was born on his mother’s birthday, Oct. 9, 1919, at home near Caldwell. His parents, John and Sophia Siskavich Zaparynuk came from Austria and farmed on the Montana- Canadian border in Phillips County. He received his eighthgrade diploma at the Caldwell School. He then went to work for numerous local farmers and ranchers. He also worked in the nearby coal mines until he enlisted in the Army in 1942. He served in New York and Louisiana where he was a medical technician and a bulldozer operator. He was honorably discharged in 1946. He came back to northern Montana and began his bartending career, working for his sister. In 1951 he married Frances Reed; the same year they bought the Bar D Bar in Wagner. During this time he worked for the railroad during the day and at the bar at night. In 1958 he left Wagner and went to work for Ralph Modic at Kennedy’s Bar in Harlem. In 1965 he purchased The Club Bar in Big Sandy, where he remained until his retirement in 1984. He remained very active at The Club Bar until he sold it in 1999 after the death of his son Rocky. He continued to enjoy checking in at all the local establishments up until his death. He was preceeded in death by his parents; his brothers, John and Mike Andrews; sisters, Nina Warren, Annie Torkelson, Mary Kinder and Ella Hasting; and his sons Robert Hamilton and Rocky Zaparynuk. Pete is survived by his wife of 57 years, Frances, daughter Amber (Randy) Beaudette and daughter-in-law, Madonna Zaparynuk, all of Big Sandy; son, John Sadler of Mesa, Ariz.; daughter-in-law Sharon Hamilton of Rock Springs, Wyo.; 10 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Memorials are suggested to the Big Sandy Medical Center.
