JOHN WILLIAM PANKIW

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JOHN WILLIAM PANKIW B.Sc., B.Ed., M.Ed. January 18, 1916 - September 6, 2004 On September 6, 2004, John Pankiw passed away at his residence at the age of 88 years. John was born many years ago in the village of Ashville, just north of Dauphin. After graduating from grade one at Norquay School in Point Douglas, John acquired the rest of his elementary and high school education in the schools of East Kildonan, besides attending evening classes for Ukrainian language, catechism and culture at the Holy Eucharist Chetalnya for at least six years. There was a time for little else to shape his professional destiny except for six years of weekly violin lessons and three years of Saturday morning classes at the School of Art, with fellow compatriots Peter Kuch and Greg Novak, under the tutelage of Lemoine Fitzgerald; one of the famous Canadian Group of Seven. The country was now in deep depression. John was enrolled in St. Pauls College, working off his tuition at odd jobs for the college. He transferred to the University of Manitoba to complete his Bachelor of Science degree in 1937. Extracurricularly, John produced cartoons and wrote articles for the student newspaper and did the artwork for the university yearbooks, which helped pay his way. The following year, he was assigned to his first teaching position with the Winnipeg School Division. He was given a group of educationally disadvantaged boys with an unlimited range of developmental opportunities. It was this experience with the down-and-outers that would shape Johns entire professional career. He married his green-eyed sweetheart, Jaroslavia (Ruby) Stefaniw in 1940 at the St. Nicholas Church, where Ruby attended the parish school in her earlier years. Of course, she wore a gorgeous gown designed and stitched with Johns artistic touch. The war was now in full blast. Through the ROTC, John earned a Captains commission and was assigned to public relations for the Prairie Command of the Canadian Army Reserves. While continuing to teach, John pursued further academic endeavours, earning him three consecutive scholarships at the Universities of Chicago and Indiana; eventually resulting in a Masters degree in Education. He was the first in Manitoba to pass the second language requirement for the degree, using the Ukrainian language. He found time to produce all of the illustrations for a series of three science textbooks used in Manitoba and Nova Scotia junior high schools. In his spare time, he built display booths for Imperial Oil and produced new car shows for major GM and Chrysler dealers. It was now 1950 and time to move on. Together with his colleague, Gordon Duncan, they built trailer homes with which to stake out claims in California school system. As faith would have it, John was promoted and remained to plan the programs, shop layouts and equipment needs for the new Technical Vocational High School. A year later, he was appointed Director of Art Education for the Winnipeg School Division, the first outsider to get his foot in the WASP dominated central administration. He was only 36 years of age but his superior educational qualifications, together with his artistic talents could not be challenged. To prove his capabilities, he devised immediate plans to revamp the entire school art education program, from kindergarten to high school. John wrote and illustrated teacher handbooks and conducted workshops for graded groups of teachers on how to develop the artistic talents of children. As new secondary schools were being built, John designed the specialized art rooms and hired trained staff for them. And his ideas soon spread throughout the province. As Director of Art Education, he initiated the first nationally acclaimed Childrens Festival of the Arts, which for five consecutive years involved 30,000 children of greater Winnipeg during the Easter school recess. In 1965, Dr. Lorimer recognized Johns special talents by appointing him his Assistant Superintendent with added responsibilities for Vocational Education, Industrial Arts, Home Economics, Fine Arts and Evening Schools. A year later, he undertook the task of designing the entire facilities and program for the R.B. Russell Vocational School and subsequently, his occupational clustering ideas were used as the main shops organizational format for all of the comprehensive high schools being built throughout Manitoba. In 1971, he chaired and authored the report of the education departments Task Force on Career Education and again five years later, he was appointed by the departments Finance Board to examine and recommend directions in which vocational education should be moving during the next decade. He was now considered to be Manitobas top expert in the field. John was appointed by the Schreyer government to the Board of Governors for the University of Manitoba. He serviced for his full nine year term on various committees, as well as five years on the executive committee of the University Senate. He was the recipient of one of the first Distinguished Service Awards for the Ukrainian professional and Business Club for his "unique contribution to the advancement and betterment of our people and community". A year earlier, he received a Manitoba Historical Society Centennial Medal for his contribution to education. In 1976, John was appointed by the Manitoba Government as a member of the Civil Service Commission, where he served until retirement. For many years, John was a member of the Rotary Club of North Winnipeg and served as its president in 1972. He was a member of the north Winnipeg YMCA Board when the plans for expansion of facilities were being formulated. John was an active member of the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club for the past 26 years, several for which were served on its Executive Committee. In 1980, he was elected to the presidency of the club. Later he volunteered to edit the clubs bulletin. He served on the executive of the National Federation of Professional and Business clubs as editor of its newsletters and the REVIEW. John retired in 1981. He and Ruby spent their winters in their home in Hollywood, FL where their circle of Ukrainian friends continued to grow annually. Together, John and Ruby had four sons; predeceased by Dennis, 1999 (Brenda) and survived by Terry, Myron and Marko (Shelley) as well as seven grandchildren, Chelsey, Clayton, Karen, Jayne, Kaitlyn, Ashley and Lindsey. Meanwhile, John the educator, the artist, the architect, the carpenter, the designer, the craftsman, the tailor, the schemer and planner, the retired connoisseur of various talents continues to share his gifts with his family and friends, and generously with the Ukrainian community. Memorial service will be held on Friday, September 10, at 10:00 a.m., at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main St. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given in Johns memory to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. CROPO FUNERAL CHAPEL 586-8044

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 09, 2004