ALEXANDER KULUK

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ALEXANDER KULUK In the early morning of June 5, 2015 Alex Kuluk slipped away peacefully, with his children and brother close at hand. Al was predeceased by his father and mother, Alexander and Elizabeth, and his wife of 51 years and love of his life, Wendy. Left to mourn are his children Christine (Glen Tachinski), Douglas and Lynne, his precious grandchildren Alexander, Kennedy, Victoria and Jackson, his best friend and brother Tony (Brenda), brother and sisters-in-law Richard, Louise, Karmen and Doug, and nieces and nephews Karen, Gary, Adam, Matt, Holly, Leora, Steve, Michelle and Mitchell. Al was born in Winnipeg on May 10, 1939 and grew up in North Winnipeg attending Machray and St. John's High School. Culminating in high school, Alex reigned supreme in football, basketball and track and field, while achieving top academic performance in all subjects. This passionate pursuit of academics and athletics is carried forward through his grandchildren who learned through his positively stellar "must do" spirit. Alex and Wendy were married in 1962 and shortly after, moved to Gilia Drive where they raised their family and resided for 50 years. Alex chose the engineering profession as a vocation and received his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from The University of Manitoba in 1961. Post-graduate studies were completed in 1966 with double majors for his Masters Degree in Geotechnical and Hydraulic Engineering. Career highlights include original design work for the Red River Floodway and Portage Diversion for the Province and northern hydro-electric projects for Manitoba Hydro, where he had 40 years of service. Later, he expanded his skills to become a Chartered Arbitrator, Professional Mediator and Consultant. Retirement? Dad never really retired. You see to our dad, work wasn't work, work was living. Dad always said that if you wanted a job done right, give it to a busy person. There was no more a busy person than he! He had a plethora of interests stemming from his passions in life: his family and friends, his homes including a farm in Prawda, his professions and sports. He was exceptionally close to his children and grandchildren and enthusiastically supported their endeavors. He was very close to his brother since childhood and they shared time on their common interests including problem solving. Their efforts resulted in miraculous success in saving his Twin Beaches cottage during the great flood of Lake Manitoba in 2012. Despite it being one of the closest to the lake and mass destruction to many properties, their ingenious riprap erosion protection barrier completely maintained the cottage and its structural integrity. Al and Wendy often entertained family and friends at their home, farm or cottage. He spent many happy hours tending to his gardens and grounds and always grew enough produce to share with others. Dad was ahead of his time and used environmental practices such as composting, planting plenty of trees and recycling in the 1970s. He was also uniquely an avid jogger in the 1970s which included a 25 km run home from Lockport on his 35th birthday. Alex believed that the true measure of a person was their character. He placed high value on family and friends, judged no one and could be called on for help whenever needed. He loved people, especially colourful characters. He was the consummate story teller and his somewhat skewed sense of humour made it difficult to separate fact from fiction. He enjoyed making his audience laugh especially with his grandchildren where his stories of "Chuck Onion" became more incredible with each telling. His attention to detail and memory for facts was truly incredible and left his audience awe struck. He was confident but possessed humility, which allowed him to laugh at his own foibles. His patience and tolerance made everyone feel at ease in his presence. For these reasons and more, he is irreplaceable and will be missed. In keeping with his wishes, a celebration of his life private gathering will be held with his family and friends. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to KidSport.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 13, 2015