John "Jack" Prien

Mr. John "Jack" Prien, of Preeceville, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 12, 2024. He was 96 years of age.

A Celebration of Jack's life will be held on Saturday, February 17, at 11:00 a.m. from the Preeceville Skating Arena.

Those unable to attend may view a live-stream of the service by going clicking on the live-stream link, here or at the bottom of the page.

Interment will follow in the Preeceville Community Cemetery.

A community skate will be held on Saturday from 1:00-3:00 in honour of Jack's life and his love for his community and in memory of the love and dedication that he had for the arena and all the activities that took place there.

Memorials in memory of Jack, may be made to Preeceville Minor Hockey (PO Box 501, Preeceville, SK, S0A 3B0) as gifts of remembrance.

Jack was born on January 18, 1928  to Henry and Theresa in Preeceville, SK. Jack resided north of Sturgis with his parents until early 1960’s when they moved into the town of Preeceville. 

Jack worked at Co-op Implements (CCIL) as the parts man from 1964 until his retirement in 1988 where he very much enjoyed helping and socializing with the customers. Jack often opened the shop on Sundays and after hours just in case the customers needed anything or maybe they just wanted to stop by for a visit. 

In addition to work, Jack volunteered countless hours for various organizations within Preeceville. You would be sure to find him at any and all events at the sporting grounds, curling rink and hockey arena volunteering his time and helping whoever and wherever he could. Jack has been recognized by the Preeceville Minor Hockey Association for his substantial monetary support along with his dedication and volunteerism for almost 70 years! For 45 of those years Jack was the sole official scorekeeper for all hockey games held in the Preeceville Arena. Although Jack never played hockey in his days, he sure loved to watch the kids play and touched the lives of so many hockey families over the years. He could always be found wandering around the rink with a smile or a joke to tell and often a Hot Chocolate and Chicken Fingers in hand.

In the mid 1960’s when Jack’s mother’s health failed he sought the help of neighbor Sylvia Rehaluk to check on his mother from time to time while Jack was at work. Sylvia would go over and make sure Theresa had a good nutritious lunch and would assist her with personal care needs. This was the start of a wonderful friendship that lasted decades between Jack and Sylvia. Jack would help Sylvia with her gardening and drive her to appointments and in turn Sylvia would always make sure Jack would be well fed! Sylvia’s family adopted Jack as one of their own and after Sylvia’s passing in 2008, her son and grandkids would still visit and help Jack out with household chores. 

In January 2019 Jack suffered with some vision loss and moved into the Preeceville Personal Care Home. Although Jack resided at the care home, he still spent a great deal of time at his house and the hockey arena. Jack enjoyed socializing with all of the other residents and made friends with most. He would be found telling jokes, or singing down the hallways while walking by the community candy dish several times a day! 

Jack was predeceased by his parents Henry and Theresa Prien; siblings, Francis, Emmett, Mary,  Blanche, Genevieve and Norma. He is survived by many nieces and nephews along with extended family and friends who cared for Jack as though he was family.