Mrs. Anna Hladun, of Humboldt and formerly of Sturgis, beloved wife of the late Alfred Hladun, passed away on November 29, 2024. She was 86 years of age.
Anna was born on November 3, 1938 to Alf and Polly (Oneschuk) Hanson at the Canora Hospital. Anna was the youngest of two children. Her older brother, Amund, was born approximately 17 months earlier.
The family first lived with Anna’s Grandpa in a small house south of the elevators in Hyas. In the fall of 1939, they moved into a small one-room log house on a farm, 3 miles north of Hyas. The log house had no running water, no toilet, and no electricity. Then, in 1945, the family moved into a lumber house her dad had built.
For Anna, growing up on the farm meant helping her mom with gardening, going to the barn to get eggs and picking wild mushrooms in the nearby bush. She also spent many hours playing with Puppy, Snaps and Towser, the family dogs. Having an older brother meant that there was always something fun to do. Anna and Amund would go skating on the slough in the winter and rafting on the slough in the spring. As they got older, they would bike the 3 miles into town to get the mail or groceries.
In the fall of 1945, Anna and Amund started school in Hyas. When the roads were good, their dad would take them to school by car or they would go by bike. When the roads were wet, their dad would take them by horse and buggy. When there was snow, their dad would take them by horse and caboose. For Grades 11 and 12, they attended Sturgis Composite High School which was 12 miles away from home. When the roads were impassible, they were forced to stay in the school’s dormitory.
During her school years, Anna was active in the United Church Youth Group, the Hyas 4-H Garden Club and the Hyas Horticulture Society. She graduated from Sturgis Composite High School in 1957. After high school, Anna attended Teacher’s College in Saskatoon.
In December 1958, Anna started dating a young man named Alfred Hladun who worked for Sask Power. This must have been love at first sight because in February 1959, Alfred asked Anna to marry him. On July 11, 1959, Anna and Alfred were married at the Grace United Church in Sturgis. In the fall of 1960, Alfred decided to pursue a teaching career as well. When he had completed his program, he was offered a position at Evadale School, north of Pelly. Anna and Alfred moved to Evadale, but Anna didn’t teach that year as she was pregnant with their first child.
While at Evadale, Anna and Alfred’s daughter, Valerie, was born in 1961 and their son, Bradley, was born in 1963. In the summer of 1964, the family moved to Wroxton where Alfred was hired as the principal and Grade 7 and 8 teacher. Anna stayed home to care for the children until February 1966 when she became the primary teacher at Wroxton.
In 1968, both Anna and Alfred were offered teaching positions in Sturgis. Anna was hired to teach Grade 2. Anna retired in December 1992 after 30 years of teaching. She continued on a temporary contract until 1993.
During their marriage and into their retirement, Anna and Alfred enjoyed many summers camping throughout Canada and winters travelling to warm destinations. They also loved spending time with their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Alfred passed away in December 2020 after a battle of cancer.
In December 2021, Anna downsized from the house she and Alfred shared since 1972 and moved into assisted living at Caleb Village in Humboldt. Anna passed away on November 29, 2024 at the Humboldt Hospital after a brief illness.
Anna was predeceased by her parents, Alf and Polly Hanson, her parents-in-law, George and Annie Hladun, her sister-in-law, Pauline Hanson. Anna is survived by her daughter Valerie Koroluk, son-in-law Nick Koroluk, son Bradley (Sheila) Hladun, grandchildren, Kent (Bailey) Koroluk, Jilliann (Eddy) Hofer, Riley Hladun (Caitlynn Stevenson), Teanna (Levi) Johnson and great-grandchildren Nikolas Dearle, Liam Dearle, River Koroluk, Sunny Koroluk, Jase Johnson, Clay Johnson and Meyer Hofer. She is also survived by her brother, Amund Hanson and numerous cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
The Funeral Service was held on Friday, December 6, 2024, from Grace United Church, in Sturgis, SK with Reverend David Mugadzi officiating and Leanne Jakubowski playing the piano. The hymns were “Seek Yee First”, “In the Bulb There is a Flower”, “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”, “Amazing Grace” and “Blessed Assurance”. The Eulogy was read by Val Koroluk. Anna’s grand-daughters, Jilliann Hofer and Teanna Johnson, shared special memories of Anna. A video tribute, was created by Kent Koroluk and featured his own original music. Interment followed in the Sturgis Community Cemetery with Bradley Hladun, Nik Dearle, Kent Koroluk, Riley Hladun, Eddy Hofer, and Levi Johnson serving as casket bearers.
Memorials may be made to Grace United Church as gifts of remembrance. Condolences can be sent to the family by visiting Anna’s tribute page at preecevillefuneralhome.com. Arrangements were entrusted to Preeceville Funeral Home.
