ERNIE GALATIUK

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ERNIE GALATIUK

Ernie Galatiuk passed away peacefully, on September 26, 2025, at the age of 83 years.

Born June 27, 1942, Ernie lived a full, happy, wonderful life. He spent many, many years as a Psychiatric Nurse at the Brandon Mental Hospital. Here he made a number of lifelong friends, and more importantly, met the love of his life, Betty. They were married on August 1, 1964 and were together forever, until her passing in 2021. Growing up Ernie played and loved every sport imaginable, hockey, baseball and football. His love of sports continued through his early adulthood as he became an all-star first basement in Brandon’s fastball leagues. As his baseball and hockey playing days came to an end, he took up golf and coaching. He coached Darren in hockey and baseball for years, and loved every minute of it. His passion for golf lasted until his health would no longer allow him to play the game. Again, many lifelong friendships were made on the golf course, and his number of rounds per year were often in the 100s. A passion of Ernie’s that he held dearly from childhood to his passing were the Montreal Canadiens, he was their biggest fan, and passed that down to Darren, Justin and Will.

A common theme for Ernie’s life is the friendships he made along the way. In addition to his sporting friends, he made special bonds with hockey parents from Darren’s teams, bridge players, coffee buddies in his retirement years, and neighbours from his time spent at Riverheights Terrace. All of these people were very dear to him. As a young boy, family was always very important to him – working on cars and developing his love of cars with his Dad, a mechanic; trips to numerous family farms; all were great memories of his.

As retired life moved along for Ernie and Betty, they met the loves of their lives in 2003 and 2006, when their Grandsons were born. Proud is an understatement when describing Ernie’s feelings towards the boys. He was always taking them somewhere in their early years – to see model trains, lunch dates, etc. He never missed any of their events as they grew older. He would always be at the rink, the ball diamond, the football field, or the rugby pitch to watch whatever sport either of them were playing.

Ernie was predeceased by his wife Betty, his parents, Mike and Elsie, and his in-laws, Herbert and Rose. He leaves behind his son Darren, daughter-in-law, Marla, grandsons Justin and Will, his sisters Verlie (Ted) and Gail, his brother-in-law, Ron (Heather), and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Ernie’s Life will take place at Brockie Donovan Chapel, 332-8th Street, Brandon, on Monday, December 22, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

Condolences: www.brockiedonovan.com

As published in Brandon Sun on Oct 04, 2025