Leo “Skip” Allan Duford
November 14, 1943 – October 10, 2023
It is with profound sadness that we say a sad goodbye to Leo “Skip” Duford, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and friend. He was born on November 14, 1943, to Leo and Veronica (née Zimmer), in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Skip was raised on the farm near Bruno. He attended Ironside School and then went to Bruno High school and St. Peter’s College. He farmed with his father and after his father’s passing, he took over for a short period of time. On March 22, 1969, Skip married Shirley Bowman in Bruno, SK. Their first daughter, Penny, was born October 18, 1969, and their second daughter Kim was born on July 1, 1971. In 1971, Skip and his family moved to North Battleford where skip was employed as a parts person at Massey Ferguson. In 1975, the family embarked on a new journey, purchasing the Hotel and Bar in Dodsland, SK. They welcomed their third daughter, Kelly on September 18, 1977. Dodsland was home for them for three years. Skip, his wife and three daughters then relocated to Naicam, SK, where they purchased the Naicam Hotel and Bar. They lived there and ran the hotel and bar for 43 yrs. This was Skip’s world. He loved the people, the visiting, most times you could find him even in the evenings sitting down and ‘shooting the shit’ with people while sipping on a cold cup of coffee from his thermos and snacking on some sort of cake or cookies that Shirley or Kelly had made; there was always an abundance of goodies around his office, in which he shared with his granddaughters. Skip worked hard to make their acreage beautiful and took good care of it, and you would drive by to find it uniquely decorated and lit up with iron light decorations, that he made himself. He spent many hours in his shop making them exactly how he wanted, and you will find them in many towns in the area as he made them and sold them. Skip raised emu, goats and sheep on the acreage and took a lot of pride in the appearance of the yard. You could find him most times on this tractor cleaning up trees and other debris. Skip also took to educating himself on weed killing and kept very busy and made a business out of it. He was known for that, and he enjoyed it. You would see him with his backpack sprayer on and rubber boots. Skip did it all; whatever he did, he did it with determination and passion and a huge amount of pride. Skip and Shirley sold their hotel and acreage and retired to Humboldt four years ago. The couple also fell in love with Texas a few years ago and purchased a home there as well to spend their winters away from the cold, which he always hated. They were also blessed to travel the world together and created many wonderful memories. Skip enjoyed playing pool and won many trophies throughout his life. He also enjoyed being on his computer, listening to webinars and eagerly learning new things. Wherever Skip was, he made many lasting friendships and always enjoyed get together with family and friends. His wife, daughters and grandchildren were a great joy to him. Skip will be greatly missed and forever loved by: his wife of 54 years, Shirley(née Bowman); daughter, Penny Yaworski and her children: Jade (Becca), Jazlyn (Reid), Kendra, and Chanel (Landan); daughter Kim ( Len) Schweighardt and their children: Victoria (Mitchell), Heather, Devin and Jake; daughter Kelly (John) Soderholm and their children: Alexis and Katie; sister Lita Marchak; sister-in-law Glenda (Leon) Jacobs; brother-in-law Darryl (Joy) Bowman; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by: his parents Leo and Veronica Duford; and brother-in-law Merv Marshak. The come and go family and friend gathering was held Saturday, October 14, 2023 – 2:00 p.m. at the Humboldt Royal Canadian Legion Branch #28. Donations maybe directed to STARS Air Ambulance (Hangar 21, 2475 Airport Road, Saskatoon, SK, S7L 1M4).
This Notice Is Courtesy Of
Schuler-Lefebvre Funeral & Cremation Services - Humboldt, Saskatchewan
(306-682-4114)