DONALD MARTO - MALINOWSKI

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DONALD MARTO - MALINOWSKI Today we celebrate the Life of a man of the people - the Very Reverand Donald Marto - Malinowski. Donald was born on March 14, 1924 in Lwow, Poland. During the war he began his fight for his fellow man by joining the resistance movement. Donald fought for two years as a partisan in the Swietokrzyskie Mountains. He was wounded three times during those years. He left Poland after the war and lived in Sweden for two years. In 1950 he immigrated to Canada. There Donald became involved in many cultural activities including being an active member of his Church the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC). He pursued his commitment to his faith by entering the seminary in 1952 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Donald was ordained in 1957 and sent to serve the parish in Little Falls, New York. Soon after, Donald relocated to Winnipeg where he began his 17 year service to the parishoners of St. Marys PNCC. During that time he also served the mission parishes in Libau and Beausejour, Manitoba. While at St. Marys, Donald saw the small parish flourish - membership exceeded 400 families, there was a vibrant youth club, womans auxillary and Polish Language School. In 1967 Donald oversaw the building of a new Church. Recognizing his contribution to the church, Donald was elevated to position of Senior with responsibility over Western Canada. In addition to his work for the Church, Donald also devoted his time to the community. He often took on the role of advocate, mediator, counsellor and arbitrator. Many new Canadians turned to him for help with immigration matters. Frustrated by "red tape" Donald entered politics in 1969 and was elected as an MLA in the first NDP government in Manitoba, serving the constituency of Point Douglas / St. Johns for 17 years. During his lifetime Donald accomplished many significant things. They included: spearheading the building of seven seniors homes including Polish Manor; celebrating Holy Mass with Pope John Paul II; he founded the Relief Fund for Poland which sent aid to Poland during martial law / Solidarity years; he founded, directed and produced the Polish television hour; and he served as parliamentary assistant to Premier Edward Schreyer. Donald was recognized for his good works, with many honours such as the Order of Canada, Polands Gold Medal for promoting Polish Culture abroad and the Order of St. John of Jerusalem of Malta. Donald died in Calgary, Alberta on May 16, 2003 after a brief battle with cancer. He was cremated and is buried in The Field of Honor at Queens Park Cemetery, Calgary. Portions of his ashes have been sent to lie with his fallen comrades in Poland. Today we celebrate the life and work of this man of the people, at a Memorial Service at 1 p.m. at St. Marys Polish National Catholic Church, 361 Burrows Ave. Donald leaves to mourn his wife of 46 years, Anna, his children, Octavia (Fereydoon), Donald (Anna - Marie), his grandchildren Paul, Kyle, Justin, his in - laws, Julia, Karol (Zofia), his nieces and nephews, Arianne (William) and son Nicholas, George (Jane) and his children Jerome and Margaret, Mark (Natalia) and Robert. If friends so desire, donations in his memory can be made to the Canadian Cancer Society or Agape Hospice, Calgary.

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jun 07, 2003