GEORGE MARTINENKO

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GEORGE MARTINENKO October 23, 1911 - August 18, 2008 Peacefully on Monday, August 18, 2008 our beloved father, grandfather and friend George Martinenko passed away at Holy Family Nursing Home at the age of 96 years. He will be lovingly remembered and cherished by his sons and daughters-in-law, Victor (Benita), Anthony, Walter (Sharon); grandchildren, Shane (Linda), Tanya; great-grandson Anthony; nieces, Rita Bergen, Dianna Fast; nephew Ed Kroeger and many friends. George was predeceased by his wife Klara of 67 years together, in 2004. In Ukraine; his father and mother; Polikarp and Prizka (nee Chaikin), brothers; Sedir, Ivan, Stepan, sisters; Vekla, Olyana, Palashka, Tania, and Liza. He was born in the village Solotka Balka, district of Tokmachkoho, in the province of Zaporizia in Eastern Ukraine on October 23, 1911. As a survivor of the 1933 Ukrainian Genocide (The Holodomor), he witnessed the horrors of this famine, terror and mass executions, in which two brothers were shot to death after being condemned as enemies of the Soviet state along with his father being jailed for 15 years. George and Klara were married on July 23, 1937 and during the war years, the family was relocated to a refugee camp in Germany, and from there they immigrated to Canada . George was very skillful in carpentry and eventually he obtained employment as a cabinet maker. His love for woodworking led him to fulfill a lifetime of making the most exquisite furniture, specializing in fine inlaid furniture finishes in his garage workshop for family and friends. A request for a piece of his work from family and friends was always welcomed, as he took great pride in his work. His love and devotion to his family always came first in his life. The family would like to thank the nurses and staff of Holy Family Nursing Home for their dedication, kindness and compassion they gave to George and support for the family. Father, Grandfather and Friend, you will always be lovingly remembered and dearly missed Glen Eden Funeral Home 4477 Main Street

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Aug 23, 2008