Obituary of John Malka

MALKA ~ John Gordon Malka of Lloydminster, Alberta passed away in Lloydminster Hospital on August 20, 2013 at the age of 78. John was born to John & Anne Malka on October 12, 1934. He is survived by: his loving wife of 59 years, Elsie; three sons, and one daughter: Donald (Sheryl) of Rivercourse, Marie (Joe) of Lloydminster, Gary (Debbie) of High River and Lionel (Jeanette) of Rivercourse; 9 grandchildren: Kiley, Carson, Raelean, Richelle, Ashley, Jenelle, Kelsie, Jono and Brady;6 great grandchildren: Bailey, Landon, Kaisen, Chase, Emma and Teague; sister, Jean Kilik of Leduc as well as cousins, nieces and nephews. John was predeceased by his father, John in 1977, mother, Anne in 1983 and brother, Walter in 1995. The Funeral Service for John was conducted from the First Baptist Church in Lloydminster on Monday, August 26, 2013 at 2:00 P.M. with Grace United Church staff associate, Joyce Carson officiating. The eulogy was read by Doug Baynton. The soloist was Kelsey Redhead. The organist was Irene Knowlson. The honorary pallbearers were Bill & Shirley Luchynski, Peter & Shelly Kuzyk, Flora Kuzyk, Ken & Jean Kay, Joan Swanson, Ted Fitch, Johnny Malka, Esther Bird, Vicki Wicker and Jen Dase. The active pallbearers were his grandchildren: Carson Malka, Kiley McAllister, Raelean Kube, Richelle Kube, Ashley Malka, Jenelle Malka, Jono Roth, Kelsie Roth and Brady Glubish. Interment followed in the Lloydminster City Cemetery. McCaw Funeral Service Ltd., of Lloydminster, Alberta administered the funeral arrangements. EULOGY At the outset I would like to thank Elsie and the Family for the honor of being given the opportunity to give Johnny's eulogy. Some things in life come as obligations, other things come as responsibilities or duties, but this is truly an honor and a privilege not only because of how I regard Johnny but also because of how I feel about you. John Gordon Malka was born on October 12th, 1934 in Kunki, Poland to John and Ann Malka. Together with his parents, his brother Walter, and Boba Malka, Johnny immigrated to Canada in 1937 when he was 3 ½ years old. Upon arriving in Canada, the family made there way to and settled in the Rivercourse District where Johnny's Dad purchased land and there they began their new life together. In 1941, Johnny's sister Jean was born and the family was complete. Life in Canada held lots of promise but it wasn't without its challenges. When Johnny started school he spoke no English so you can imagine the degree of difficulty he faced. Some days Johnny thought it would just make more sense to sneak home than stay in class. It came to the point that his teacher had to resort to hiding his lunch box knowing that he could not return home without it. Even that was not fail-safe however as Johnny occasionally would discover the hiding place - often tucked away up high on a shelf - and devise a strategy to retrieve it, and then escape with it. Other days when simple escape wasn't an option, Johnny would attempt an appeal to the teacher on the basis of health issues. Johnny would rub his stomach and explain to his teacher that his "heart" hurt. Indeed, the challenge of a second language did prove to be a barrier to his plans of shortening the school day. But school wasn't all bad, for it was at a high school dance that Johnny met Elsie Payne and thus started their courtship. As would become typical of Johnny, when he put his mind to something he was usually successful and this venture was no exception. So on January 14, 1955, Johnny and Elsie were married. Johnny and Elsie quickly settled into married life farming together with Johnny's parents. In due course, Johnny and Elsie had four children: Donnie, Marie, Gary and Lionel. If the days weren't full enough already with all the work and chores of farming, I am sure they were full by the time all the kids had arrived with all the responsibilities and activities that accompany them. But for Johnny that was the perfect mix. His family and the farm made his world complete and he enjoyed all that went with them. From feeding the livestock to taking the kids to hockey and their sporting events, Johnny had found his niche. Johnny and Elsie farmed together with his parents until 1974 when Johnny's parents retired. After that Johnny and Elsie remained on the farm until Johnny suffered his strokes in October of 1999 and they moved into Lloydminster. Though it was hard for Johnny to leave the farm, it was of considerable consolation to him that it has stayed in the family with his sons still farming it today. After moving to town, as often as he was able, Johnny enjoyed taking a drive out to the farm just to check on things and make sure that everything was alright. After his strokes Johnny's health continued to deteriorate but on account of Elsie's determination and care Johnny was able to stay at home up until just the last few years when it finally became necessary for Johnny to move to the Dr. Cooke. Understandably, the transition to the Dr. Cooke was another challenge for Johnny. After all, it was another step away from the things he cherished most - the farm and his family. But again, Elsie made that transition as smooth as possible by visiting every day for several hours, helping with his meals and keeping him comfortable until it was time to settle Johnny in for the night. It needs to be said that Elsie's care of Johnny over the years was nothing short of amazing and Johnny would have been the first to attest to that. In fact, at times he might have been even a little obsessive about it needing to be Elsie that provided his care. I think it would be fair to say that Johnny had a wee bit of a stubborn streak. But underneath it all you could see Johnny's love of Elsie. Whenever Elsie arrived you could sense Johnny relax. Now things were good. He felt better knowing she was there. And Elsie holding his hand was one of his most effective medications. To this point this has largely been a chronology of the details of Johnny's life, and though these facts are important, we would be remiss to leave it at that. It is equally, and perhaps even more important to reflect on the personal qualities that made Johnny who he was and thus why he was special and significant to each of us. Though there is no way to begin to capture them all here today, these are some of the things that most, if not all of us will remember or recognize. Johnny was kind of quiet and reserved. He was never looking to be the centre of attention. He was always happy to be more on the periphery or in the background out of the limelight. But all the while he was interested in people and what was going on and he was always, either directly or indirectly, helping everyone else to achieve their goals and be successful. As a result it was virtually impossible not to like and appreciate Johnny and I am sure he didn't have an enemy in the world. Johnny was a John Deere guy. No more reason than a coffee was necessary for Johnny to make a visit to the dealership. No parts were needed and no maintenance had to be scheduled. He just enjoyed stopping by to check in with the guys at Agland. If it was green it was his machine. And it didn't stop at just tractors and machinery and implements. Even today if you look on the deck at the house there is a John Deere BBQ. Johnny was also a dog guy. He had a special place in his heart for dogs and he had a number of German Shepherds including Buddy, Major, and Buttons among others. Many will recall seeing Johnny driving to town in the red half-ton along with his dog and each of them with a revel or a drumstick. Marie was telling me that the dogs all knew where the Red Rooster was and what happened next when you went there. Marie said that the dogs would watch them pass the store every time they came to town. But their hope of a treat had to be deferred to when it was time to head home. And Elsie was telling me that Jack Graham always used to give Johnny a hard time saying that whenever he met Johnny on the road Johnny would never wave - but the dog did. I don't think there was a raffle that Johnny didn't like or support. He was always buying tickets on this, that or the other thing - Helping out whatever organization was trying to raise funds. And he even cashed in a few times on some big winnings. It made sense to me that he would win because I think that they just knew Johnny was a winner. Johnny enjoyed traveling. He and Elsie were fortunate to be able to take a few trips back to the old country where they were able to visit Russia and Poland and other parts of Europe. They were also able to meet family and relatives as well as see where Johnny was born. And then there were the family holidays to Kelowna and Banff with Johnny's parents where all eight stayed in the Tent Trailer: Three in one bed, two on the floor and three in the other bed. Now that's making the most of a tent trailer. Although in fairness it should be noted that Elsie thought that in Banff Guido was too busy sitting at the door watching for bears to sleep. Johnny also had a big heart and was always ready to open his home to someone in need of some help or special care and attention. Bill Babich and Jimmie Johnson were two that particularly benefitted from Johnny's care and attention. His generosity and hospitality started at home but it didn't end there. As I already mentioned he was always supporting various causes in the community and beyond. Over the years Johnny also regularly supported extended family in the old country by sending funds and special care packages. One year just the postage alone was over $850.00. And while Johnny was very benevolent, he was also a practical joker. You had to have your wits about you with Johnny or before you knew it he had distracted you long enough to pull the hot spoon out of his coffee and rest it on your arm just long enough to give you a fright. If it wasn't that trick it was another so it was probably a good thing that every once in a while Johnny's Brothers in Law, Robert and Albert would take Johnny fishing or something where they would then take the opportunity to and play pranks on Johnny and scare him all day long just to sort of even the score a little. I don't know if any of you ever noticed but Johnny had a sweet tooth. I think Johnny spent his whole life forever in search of the next candy. He would squirrel stashes of candies away only to have the wrappers discovered later - hidden under the cushions of his chair or in a pocket or something. These then are some of the things that made Johnny the man we came to know and love. And though we now are faced with going on without Johnny, he has given us numerous tips to take with us. Along with all the memories he has given us some good examples to try and emulate. * Don't succumb to the challenges. There are ways to overcome them and be successful. * Live generously. Watch for ways to share what you have been blessed with. * Care for others. * Have fun. Life goes better with a laugh. * And of course… Be sure to love your family and friends. Whatever our position or stage of life, I think we would all do well to remember these things about Johnny and have that motivate us to grow better at them ourselves. As I close, Later along, after the strokes, when it became difficult for Johnny to articulate his thoughts and feelings, he adopted a few phrases to express himself. One of these phrases he used whenever he wanted to express his thanks and appreciation to someone that he felt was going above and beyond to help him, or when he wanted to let you know that he held someone in high regard. In either of those scenarios Johnny would say… Good Man! Good Man! Or, Good Woman! Good Woman! … as the case may be. To hear those words was high praise coming from Johnny and he didn't hand them out indiscriminately. Well today, though without the justification of a stroke, I too find myself unable to adequately articulate my esteem for Johnny. As such, I trust that you will understand and agree when I take a page from Johnny and sum up by saying: John G. Malka. Good Man! Good Man! I also have the honor of sharing some of the Grandkids memories of Johnny. All the Grandkids were able to get together last night and they came up with these: OUR MEMORIES OF PAPA · Checking the crops with Major in the back of the red Dodge. · Trying to pass his Copenhagen off as candy to us children. · Hoocha Rides in the green Courier. · Doing the polka in the kitchen to Ukranian hour. · Riding around the Gator with him. · Always cracking our toes when we least expected it. · Having Pumpkin pie with all his coffee buddies in the Co-op Cafeteria listening to them talk in Ukranian. · When you least expected it he would scare you with a BAM!!! (insert a hand slap on the table) · Riding into Lloyd in the white Mercury listening to Papa sing to Kenny Rogers eight tracks. · All German Shepherds make us think of him. · He always had some sort of candy in his pocket. · He always took us to the Rivercourse Post Office for treats - even when Mom said we weren't supposed to have any. · Riding in the back of the Courier because the dog got to ride in the front of the truck. · We remember standing next to him in the upstairs bathroom while he shaved and we would use his brush and soap and lather up and pretend to shave with him. · Watching The Littlest Hobo on TV always claiming the German Shepherd was Buddy. CARD OF THANKS Special Thanks to the nursing staff of the Emergency and 3rd floor of the Lloydminster Hospital. Thank you to the Doctors, Dr. du Plooy, Dr. Kerlis, Dr. T. Govender, Dr. Botha, Dr. K. Naidoo and Dr. Abdulla. Thank you to Haylee, Michelle and other attendants of the Lloydminster Ambulance for their kindness, understanding and care given to John on his emergency trips. Thanks to the nursing staff of the Dr. Cooke Extended Care Centre for their care and kindness shown to John over the past three and a half years. Thank you to Reverend Paul DuVal for the many visits to Johnny. Thanks to Joyce Dickson for being with us on John's final days. Sincere thanks to officiant Joyce Carson for the touching service. Thank you to Irene Knowlson, the organist. Thank you to Kelsey Redhead and friends Delaine and Skye for the special music. Special thanks to the honorary and active pallbearers. Special thanks to Doug Baynton for giving the awesome eulogy, and to Colleen Hozack for the beautiful tasty lunch after the service. Our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the relatives, friends and neighbors who personally expressed or sent messages of condolence, beautiful floral tributes, sympathy cards and charitable donations, gifts of food, baking and meals to our homes. Sincere thanks to Glenn McCaw and staff for your professionalism and comfort during this difficult time. Elsie Don & Sheryl Marie & Joe Gary & Debbie Lionel & Jeanette and families