JOHN KULIK

Adjust Text Size: A+ A-

JOHN KULIK On February 16, 2015, in the comfort of his suite at the Broadmead Lodge, John Kulik, aged 96, passed in the evening on a beautiful spring-like day in Victoria, BC. John leaves to mourn his daughter Judy, son-in-law Murray, granddaughter Alanna (Cole) as well as five sisters-in-law, many nieces, nephews and friends. John was the youngest of four siblings (Mike, Lena and Mary) born to immigrant parents (John and Annie), formerly of Austria. His parents settled in the Transcona area and while his father worked for the CP Railway, family members became market gardeners. Even though there were many hardships growing up in the 30s, John always looked on the bright side of things and remembered the good times with his family and friends. In 1941, he enlisted in the army with his best childhood friend, John White, and served his country in England first as a transport vehicle driver and then an ambulance driver. Upon his promotion to a full corporal, John became the personal driver to Colonel White, CO of Aldershot Command. Just before leaving for England, John got engaged and one of the first things he did upon returning from the war was marry his sweetheart Anne. They were married 52 years and had two daughters, Judy and Shirley. Over the years, John, Anne and the girls shared lots of good times with relatives at various family gatherings. John and Anne loved the great outdoors and in their earlier years would go on camping trips with their girls to Clear Lake in Riding Mountain National Park. John also became part of the carpentry trade and built many homes with Hartman Construction in the St. James and River Heights areas. In 1959, John became employed with Sears Canada where he thoroughly enjoyed his 25-year+ career as a carpenter in the Display Department and worked alongside his fellow worker, John Ducharme. The two of them, known as John and John, were almost inseparable on numerous store projects. It was at Sears where John developed his friendships with numerous staff members from varying departments, and those bonds continued after his retirement with the Sears Retiree Club. John was very proud of the lovely home on Moray he built and enjoyed for 50 years. In his retirement years, he spent countless hours caring for his yard and became quite an avid gardener. People driving by would even stop and take pictures of his park-like front yard. He was also a dog lover and over time had three Pomeranians--Fluffy, Squeaky and Pom Pom. Once his home became too much to maintain, John moved into Sturgeon Creek II Retirement Residence and was able to continue with all his walks and developed a new circle of friends. John even became Sturgeon's "poster child" for their advertising. However, it was the love of family and friends that John cherished, and nothing in life was more important to John than his beautiful granddaughter. He always looked so forward to Alanna's school activities, dance recitals and all our family gatherings, especially the times spent at the cottage in Belair. John was welcomed as family among our neighbourhood friends on Harrogate as well as our lake friends, and felt special being part of different functions. At 91, John took his first plane ride since the war to live with Judy and Murray in Victoria upon their retirement. From our many car rides, he was able to appreciate the beauty of the Island and enjoyed his family time with us where we would often reminisce about the good times. With declining health, John moved to the Broadmead Lodge and over his three years there, he looked forward to the daily entertainment, the friendly caring staff and of course, the food. The family would like to thank Dr. P. Houghton and the staff of A3 as well as companions Betty and Hope for all their care, compassion and friendship during John's time at the Lodge. John was a kind, generous and loving man who saw the good in everything, would go out of his way to lend a helping hand to family and friends and cared deeply for his family. To remember John and a life well lived, a private memorial service will be held in Winnipeg at a later date. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com McCall's of Victoria, BC (1-800-870-4210)

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Feb 21, 2015