JAMES KOWALUK

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JAMES KOWALUK It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of James Kowaluk, with his wife Jessie by his side, at the St. Boniface hospital on June 22, 2007, at the age of 80. James is survived by his wife Jessie; his son James (Linda); daughter Shelley (Michael), and grandchildren, Mark, Alicia, Nicole, Taryn and Ryan. He was predeceased by his first wife Alice Julia in 1973 and his brothers Bill and Tony. James was born on August 1, 1926 in Gonor, Manitoba. In 1944, he went to Sudbury, Ontario to work at the International Nickel Mine. Upon his return to Manitoba, he worked with his father building houses in the Selkirk area. Soon after, he began to work on commercial construction and became a foreman in 1953. During these years, he worked on projects from Ontario to the Arctic. Before he retired in 1989, he worked as a superintendent for 18 years. In 1955, he married Alice Shalay and they moved to East St. Paul in 1956. James and Alice had two children: James in 1958 and Shelley in 1963. James built the house they lived in on an acreage just north of Bird's Hill in 1968. In 1977 he married his present wife Jessie (Uswak). Jim and Jessie lived on the acreage until last summer at which time they moved into the city to be closer to their grandchildren. He took great pride in watching his grandchildren grow up. He would enjoy every moment spent with them from watching them play sports, play piano, reading to them, or going on holidays with them. He truly treasured his time with them, and took much pride in all of their accomplishments. Another passion of his was reading, everything from newspapers and magazines, to one or two novels a week. James loved carpentry and woodworking. He built toys for the grandkids, as well as the entertainment unit, coffee table and china cabinet for their own home. Since their retirement, Jim and Jessie enjoyed gardening, visiting friends and relatives and travelling. Their travels included Florida, Mexico, Australia and many other places. Jim particularly liked travelling to Hawaii where he could enjoy another of his passions walking. Up until recently, he would walk miles every day, be it to the store in Bird's Hill, to see his grandkids or to the library in Hawaii. He will always be remembered as a loving husband, father, grandpa and father-in-law. The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff of 5B Medicine and the MICU for their outstanding care and support of the family during this difficult time. Prayers will be said on Monday June 25 at 8:00 p.m. at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main St. Funeral service will be held on Tuesday June 26 at 10:00 a.m., also at the Chapel. Interment to follow at Immaculate Conception Ukrainian Catholic Church Cemetery, in Cooks Creek. Pallbearers will be Darrell Bazan, Ken Kowaluk, Warren Shalay, Doug Kolson, Greg Simmons, and John Lebtag. Honorary pallbearers are Bruce Kowaluk, George Simmons, Thomas Uswak, Doug Skolny and David Zayac. Jimmy, you will be forever missed and never forgotten. Rest in peace. Your family CROPO FUNERAL CHAPEL 586-8044

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 25, 2007