Sportsman.
Born at East Selkirk on 11 April 1929 to John Chenkie (1890-1974) and Catherina Smaluch (1896-1975), his family moved to Selkirk when he was a young child. At age 13 he left school to work at the Manitoba Rolling Mills, and then moved on to jobs at Re-Nu Cleaners and Coca Cola Beverages. He married Ella May Blunderfield in 1951, and the following year started working for Selkirk Motor Products, eventually purchasing the business and running it until 1977. After exploring a few small business ventures, he was employed by Purvis Navcon Shipyard at the Beaufort Sea for several years. From 1987 until his retirement in 1998, he managed a floatplane base for Selkirk Air at Bissett. A fan of sports, he was involved in junior baseball in his youth and later became manager for the Selkirk Fisherman Hockey Club. The team became the Manitoba/Thunder Bay champions and was a contender in the Allan Cup semi-finals in 1965-1966. He was a devoted family man, an avid gardener and fisherman, and enjoyed old-time music and dancing. He died at Selkirk on 26 May 2005 and was buried in the Notre Dame Roman Catholic Cemetery.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 30 May 2005.
Peter Chenkie, Drysdale Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 25 November 2021
Memorable Manitobans
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