Andrew DROPKO

Dropko: Andrew (Andy) February 9th,1929 - November 19th, 2004 Andy passed away peacefully at his home in Rosedale with his wife Olga, nearby. He was a Husband, Father, Uncle, Great Uncle and Great Great Uncle and his only 'grandchildren' were his daughters' pets, a cocker spaniel named Taylor and a Persian mix cat named Ashes who came to live with them. Andy was often seen on the road to Wayne walking and talking with Taylor and he loved to have Ashes keep his feet warm at night while they slept. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Olga, his two children Drew and Romona; and his brother Albert (AI) and sister in- law Laurette Dropko of Edmonton survive him. His brothers' children; Contessa, Denise, Andre, Lise and their families, and his sister and brother in-law Mary and John Macy will sadly miss him. His niece Carol and her husband Brian Flinn and their daughter Tina and fiancée David Jones, as well as his niece and God Daughter Linda and her husband Brian Zacharuk and their daughter Mary and her husband Randy James, and daughter Marnie and Alfred, along with sons Dustin and Ryan Zacharuk are saddened by the loss of their Uncle, Great Uncle and Great Great Uncle. Additionally, he will be missed by his wife?s sister-in-Iaw Kaye Janswick and sons Klint, Greg, Shane, Todd, daughter Peggy and their families as well as many other relatives and countless friends. Andy was born in Drumheller and lived his entire life in the Valley. He first followed in his father Victor?s footsteps by working in the Star Mine, then his natural charm took him on the road as a salesman for Conway Wholesale covering Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. He worked at the Napier Theater and Drive-In as well before beginning his 27-year career in corrections as one of the first guards at the Drumheller Institution. He also worked part-time at Excelsior Motors in the furniture departments and created their parade floats for a number of years. Then after retiring in 1991 from the penitentiary he was asked to come back to teach crafts in the workshop, which, for all whom knew him, was his passion. Andy was a charmer who was always well groomed and is remembered fondly for the fantastic scent of after-shave that he left everywhere he went. He was most comfortable in his work boots, jeans and jean jacket and he will be well remembered for the Dentyne gum or candies he passed out to 'his girls' at the bank, stores, restaurants, clinic, hospital or when just meeting up with him on the street. Andy delighted in taking his nieces Carol and Linda on trips with he and Olga when they were younger, and then later taking their daughters, his great nieces Mary, Marnie and Tina on vacations with his children. They traveled in his van fondly named Bondo Magic and later in the family campervan. His only request was that he get some time to whittle wood, look for rocks, and do some gold panning on their trips to B.C., California and Florida and all points in between and no one objected. In fact they had fun splashing around in the creeks with him. Andy is probably best known for his drawings and work with juniper wood, rock hounding for petrified dinosaur bone and wood, creating jewelry from wood, deer horn and rocks he polished in his workshop, and most recently the eagles he carved from moose horns. He was a generous man who often gave most of his crafts away and was not afraid of hard work. He loved to tackle any fix it, draw it, create it, or build it challenge that his family and friends asked of him from making pterodactyl spoon racks, to Coyote towel holders to his Hoo Doo salt and pepper shakers to even building a miniature swinging bridge. He often painted store windows at Excelsior Motors for the holidays as well as the windows of his daughters' office in Calgary on occasion, and even played Santa Claus for the kids at the store. Andy passed on his love of rock hounding to his brother Al and great great nephews Dustin and Ryan. Al came down often from Edmonton to spend time in the hills gathering rocks for his own works of art and Dustin was learning the fine art of lapidary. Andy also shared his love of art with his niece Tina who studied it at the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. He loved comics and constant doodling and was working on a collection of Hoo-doo-Kin cartoons where his main characters were Dinosaurs. The younger Andy, #9, was a valuable member of the Midways baseball team who were 10 years Alberta champions in the summers and in the winters he played on the Drumheller Minors Hockey team. In addition to being an avid sports fan he was a fisherman who loved to fish with his children when they were younger to most recently with his nephew Brian and great great nephew Dustin. In the summer he could be found tending his garden and in the winter shoveling the snow in front of his house and carrying right on up the street practically to the top of the hill. He grew the best snow peas in the valley and as a lover of wildlife, while he was busy keeping them away from his garden, he was always making sure to feed the birds, bunnies and deer that came to eat in his luscious garden. He donated many hours and many of his creations to associations like the Drumheller & District Fish and Game Association and his Community where he called Bingo at the Rosedale Hall and even coached his daughter's baseball team. He was a longtime resident of Rosedale and will be missed by many. It was Andy's wish that no funeral or memorial services be held and it is the families wishes that any tributes be made to Canadian Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetes or the Heart and Stoke Foundation of Alberta.