Obituary of John Surkan

A memorial folder from the funeral service may be printed under the "Memories" tab, then choose "Memorial Program". John passed away peacefully in Calgary on December 26, 2013 at the age of 94 years. He is lovingly remembered by his four children, Larry (Janice) Surkan, Susan (George) Feswick, David (Michelle) Surkan, Grace (Edward) Maxwell, grandson, Brenden Maxwell, sister Doris Rusnack, brother Matt (Viola) Surkan and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Nick and Lena Surkan, his wife Frances and his sister Katherine Surkan. John was born in the Insinger District on August 7, 1919 and grew up on the family farm. He was the eldest of four children. He attended the Insinger Village School and later Aysgarth School. In 1940 he moved to Vancouver , BC and got a job on a coastal freighter hauling material between Tacoma WA and Alaska. On October 2, 1941 he reported for basic training in the Army and was trained as a gunner. He was posted to the 85th Field Battery 24th Field Regiment RCA. In 1943 the Canadians agreed to assist the Americans to reclaim the Aleutian Islands from the Japanese and he was sent to Kiska as the 24th Regiment was part of the brigade. After his discharge in February, 1946 he enrolled in a Motor Mechanics course in Saskatoon. On March 31, 1951 he married Frances Halek from the Theodore area and they settled in Insinger and farmed there for 10 years. During this period they had four children. In 1961, John took a job as a steam boiler operator with the Radar Base in Orcadia and years later in the heating plant at the Yorkton Regional High School. After 14 years of shift work, he decided to go farming again and continued to farm into his early sixties. John enjoyed working with raw stones and was a member of the Rock & Gem club in Yorkton, and over the years made many pieces of jewellery from rocks he had picked. He was also an avid gardener and his children enjoyed his fruits of labor when they would visit him in Yorkton. He spent many a winter evening cataloguing his extensive coin collection, or reading many of his books as he was interested in history and world affairs. During his retirement years he travelled extensively, to the Ukraine where his parents were born, Europe, Hawaii, Caribbean and many parts of the United States. In October, 2012 he moved to the Colonel Belcher Care Home in Calgary to be closer to his daughters. The family would like to thank Dr. Kreutzer, the nurses and staff at the Colonel Belcher for their care and kindness to John and his family. We will miss him and we will cherish our memories of what a wonderful father we had. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. A memorial service will be held on January 4, 2014 at 2:00 P.M. ******************************** And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore, The former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4 Interment Details Yorkton City Cemetery