Paul Rogalsky
Obituary
On Saturday, November 22, 2025, surrounded by love and holding the hand of his sweetheart, Jacob Paul Rogalsky flew away into the arms of his Saviour. A stroke five days earlier brought his family to his bedside where we sang songs of the glory, joy, and rest awaiting him – with Paul providing the actions and whispering the lyrics while he was able – until his release from this life into the next.
As a family we are overwhelmed with gratitude for the unconditional love and joy he so freely shared with us. Paul is survived by his wife Eleanore and his four sons and their families: Tim and Ayn with Nathan, Lola, Mark, and Philip; Jamie (Charlotte, predeceased in 2007) with Josiah & Starina, Carissa & Colin, and Emma; Steve and Jen with Anna, Christina, and Madelyn; Matthew and Jennifer with Irene and Gunnar. Paul’s extended family and community is wide; evidence of his ability to draw others in with his disarming humour and his gift of loving acceptance. We know that many grieve along with us including his sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews, adopted family, and beloved members of his brain injury support group and his church community.
We can see the seeds of Paul’s interests, convictions, and characteristics planted early in his life: a love for family; for learning; deep connection with nature; a desire to help and to serve; and the start of his curious sense of humour. Jacob Paul Rogalsky entered the world on March 29, 1941, in Leamington Ontario, the third child of Justina and Gerhard Rogalsky and a youngest brother to Anne and Peter. As a boy he began to use his middle name of Paul since he felt there were enough Jacobs around already laying claim to his first name. Many of Paul’s childhood stories include his adventures while exploring in the woods along with his pet skunk and goat.
His love for family and for learning continued into adulthood, expanding as Paul met Eleanore and discovered his vocation as a teacher. Paul’s devotion to his sweetheart began in 1959 when he asked to walk her home from bible school in Kitchener, even knowing that this kind of request was not allowed. He liked to say, “We fell in love and we’re still there.” Marrying in September of 1964, their early years together included moves to Manitoba and again back to Ontario as Paul completed degrees from MBBC and Wilfred Laurier University.
Paul and Eleanore’s strong desire to serve, along with Paul’s continued pursuit of education led to a two-year commitment with the MB Mission Board in 1967. In Musquodoboit Harbor, Nova Scotia, Paul and Eleanore joined a church planting team while Paul taught high school and completed another degree at Dalhousie University. The family stayed five years on the East Coast – Tim arrived in 1968 and Jamie in 1970 – enjoying the beauty of the ocean and building lifelong relationships with new friends and with students. These years were also difficult, testing Paul’s commitment to his vocation while refining his commitment to scripture and service. As he discovered in Colossians 3: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord…”
With a move back to Ontario in 1972, Paul once again poured himself out into serving and teaching as he began a 25-year tenure at Eden Christian College in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Steve arrived in 1973 and Matthew in 1981, completing their family as they rooted themselves in their communities at Orchard Park Bible Church, Eden, and on Henry Street in Virgil. As a dad, Paul modeled the importance of faith, hard work, integrity, and quiet generosity – and always with a good measure of fun and through the lens of his quirky humour and curiosity about the world. The Rogalsky boys learned not just by watching their Dad, but alongside him through his deep engagement in their lives. On the weekends and in the summers all four boys were up on the roof with Rogalsky & Sons Roofing, learning how to do a job right, while also playing tag and making sure Matthew was tied on whenever Mom stopped by. Paul had the opportunity to teach and coach each one of his sons, sharing his interest in computers, math, sports of all kinds and particularly basketball, as well as the importance of being a good teammate. When the brothers and their dad together built their house on Niagara Stone Road, he helped to instill a lifelong belief in his sons that they could figure out almost any situation with some creativity, hard work, and maybe the help of a friend or brother.
As a teacher, Paul focused on relationships as much as course content. Mr. R, or “Rocco”, Paul became a favourite for many students, nurturing connections that continued far beyond the classroom and continued throughout his life.
A car accident in the spring of 1997 resulted in a traumatic brain injury that became a watershed moment. He described the journey forward as a “re-faith-ing”; re-discovering all that was wiped clean from his brain. Paul asked questions about everything he thought he once knew, sifting and sorting through the pieces to claim those things that he once again could know with conviction. While painful and disorienting, the accident also sharpened Paul’s vision for seeing those who needed a friend, those who could use a listening ear or simply needed to be understood by someone who knew what it was like to feel out of step with everything going on around you. Mornings were often the best part of his day, and Paul spent many with his brain injury support group – a community that he embraced for 24 years – and enjoying time with other friends he met for breakfast and coffee.
Paul and Eleanore retired to Mitchell, Manitoba in 2001. As a family we could see that at Dad’s core he remained the same even as Paul’s experience of his own life had shifted: he remained deeply committed to his family and to serving others, loving those around him unconditionally; generous; voraciously curious; always teaching even if no longer formally a teacher; and sharing his unique perspective on the world that kept us giggling and sometimes scratching our heads.
Grandpa and Grandma attended every family activity they could. Concerts and plays, volleyball, basketball, hockey, soccer and football games, dance, cheerleading, gymnastics – all became must-see events. When the grandkids were little Paul built “Grandpa’s Truck”, pulling them behind his lawn mower in the Steinbach parade, and when they were older, he built the infamous wobble bike so he could enjoy watching his family try to learn to ride it.
Paul completed his journey these last years just as he had lived it, delighting in his family and friends, taking care of his sweetheart, serving others whenever he could, and praising God with the conviction of someone who had forgotten his faith and worked tirelessly to reclaim it. We are so grateful for his example to us and for his unwavering love.
Thank you to the health care team at Bethesda Regional Health Centre for your compassionate care, helping guide us through the last few weeks and providing the support to help us spend Paul’s final days with him enveloped by peace and love.
We will celebrate Paul’s life on Thursday, November 27, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., at Southland Church, 190 PTH 52 W, Steinbach, MB.
