WALTER WAKULA

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WALTER WAKULA May 2, 1922 - September 26, 2013 It is with great sadness that our family announces the passing of Walter Wakula on September 26, 2013 at the age of 91. Walter was born in Stehnikivtzy, Ukraine, a small village near the city of Ternopil in western Ukraine, the eldest of four children born to Sawka Wakula and Marinka Skubish. As a young man Walter was taken to Germany to work in the factories during the Second World War. At war's end, in Goslar, Germany, he met and married the love of his life, Helen Letkeman. A year later, he immigrated to Canada working in the bush in northern Ontario, on sugar beet farms in southern Manitoba and landing a job at the CPR all the time saving money to bring his family over from the old country to Canada. They settled in Winnipeg where he worked as a carpenter for over 35 years until his retirement from Manitoba (Dominion) Bridge in 1987. He worked hard to assimilate into Canadian culture and worked hard to help his family get ahead in their chosen country. Some might say that Walter was an ordinary man. This ordinary man went to work every day, missing none even during the great snow storm of 1966 he walked in waist deep snow eight kilometres to get to work. Walter worked hard to provide for his family including driving cab part time to get a few special extras. This ordinary man sought excellence and inspired his children and his grandchildren to get an education, to pursue professional and executive careers, to marry and have a good life to live his Canadian dream and to be better in all things than he had been. This ordinary man could build and fix anything. Give him something broken and in no time it would be repaired. Chances are he could go into the jungle with a hammer and a screwdriver and build a shopping centre. This ordinary man, before his memory failed, wrote his autobiography, in both English and Ukrainian, to pass on to his family in Canada and Ukraine so they would know about his life and document his family history. This ordinary man travelled the world, returned to his homeland several times and inspired his family there, too. He spoke five languages fluently. This ordinary man also enjoyed ordinary things like daily walks, camping, fishing and hunting, and going for long drives in the country. Walter Wakula was no ordinary man. A life's work, well done. Walter is survived by his son, Walter, Jr. (Michela Smith), his daughter, Eleanor/Norah Wakula (John Bentley), granddaughters, Alana Wakula (Bill Nickle) and Athena Wakula (Ian Holton) and great-grandsons, Zak, Ryan and Andrew. He is also survived by his sister, Marinka Boitsun (Pavlo), and numerous nieces and nephews in the Ternopil region of Ukraine and the Tula and Moscow areas of Russia. He is predeceased by his wife Helen Wakula, his brother Slawko Wakula and his sister Anna Butryn. The family would like to give a special thank you to the staff at Donwood Manor who looked after Walter with love, care and compassion during his four years at Donwood and for his end-of-life care during the final weeks of his life. A service and celebration of Walter's life will be held at Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church, Munroe at Watt Street at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1 followed by a reception. Interment is to follow at the Cathedral of Saint Vladimir and Olga All Saints Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please send donations to Donwood Manor Foundation at 171 Donwood Drive, Winnipeg, MB, R2G 0V9.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 28, 2013