Obituary of John Michalski

Today, as I stand before all of you, I am not sad. I am happy that I have had the opportunity to know my grandfather. My Grandpa was born on June 10, 1923 in Ciemen, Poland. His parents died when Grandpa was a young boy, so he was raised by his Aunt in Poland until the age of 16. It was the time of World War II, and Grandpa was forced from his home by the German soldiers where he was sent to work on a farm until the war ended in 1945. With the war over, Grandpa had the choice of joining the English Army in Germany or go back to his homeland. He chose to join the Army, where he chauffeured a Major for 3 years. The time spent in the Army was a proud time for Grandpa, and I was always very pleased when he would talk about this interesting time in his life. In 1950, Grandpa met a young woman at one of the many dances that were held in Germany. This woman, Adele, became his wife, and they were married a short while later in Verden-Aller in Germany. Grandma would joke that she fell for "a man in uniform" and I could clearly see why after seeing the handsome photos of Grandpa as a young man. Their first daughter, Christa, was born in 1952. A decision was made to move to Canada and in 1954, Grandpa, Grandma, and my mom boarded the ship to Arosa-Star and sailed to Canada where they docked in Quebec. Before leaving Germany, Grandpa was asked where he wanted to live, and he said "Somewhere not too hot". Those 'fateful' words landed the family in Saskatchewan, where they lived in various towns before settling in Lloydminster in 1964. By this time, their son was born, Charlie, in 1959 and their 2nd daughter, Janice, in 1963, both in Kindersley, Saskatchewan. After a brief period spent working on the Oil Rigs, Grandpa was hired by the City of Lloydminster where he worked for 25 years until his retirement at the age of 65. He was proud of his service for the city and would point out with pride his retirement gift, a clock engraved with his name, to visitors to his home. Part-time in the evenings, Grandpa had also worked for the Alberta Hotel slinging beer. It was rumored that Grandpa was a heck of a bar slinger and could do arithmetic as fast as could be. This quick mind with numbers lent itself well to one of Grandpa's many passions, Cribbage. He never missed a point and you could see his competitive nature as he battled in good fun his opponents to a hopeful victory. You would almost feel bad if you beat him at this game, as you know how much he liked to win. With his summers spent at his cabin in Loon Lake, the colder months were spent in Lloydminster. Grandpa loved watching sporting events, especially hockey, and he was lucky enough to live right across the street from the Civic Centre. In the winter, you could always find Grandpa at the ticket booth or as a faithful fan in the bleachers supporting the local hockey scene. Grandpa, who enjoyed a long retirement, returned to Poland and Germany with his wife on two occasions to visit with family and friends. MEMORIES BY HIS DAUGHTER, CHRISTA Dad was a patient man. This trait was apparent from the pails of berries he would pick each summer. This past summer, dad couldn't pick berries like before, so I was surprised when dad walked through the cabin door and came up to the kitchen counter where mom and I were standing. He showed us with pride a ball cap full of Saskatoon berries he had just picked, and of course we were not expecting this wonderful treat. Mom promptly took these berries from him and made them into a delicious Saskatoon sauce, which later was poured over dad's vanilla ice cream, one of dad's favorite desserts. I remember how much Dad loved his cat Fluffy, which he acquired later in life. Just knowing fluffy was in the home gave Dad comfort. When mom said it was time for Fluffy to go outside in the evening, Dad had every reason why she should not go out, like it was too cold, too wet, or too windy, even when it was a perfectly nice evening. Dad would reluctantly give in. In the morning, when Fluffy was not seen through the patio doors, where Fluffy would sometimes be waiting to come in, dad would go out and search for her around the cabin. I can hear Grandpa calling Fluffy, Fluffy, and before long, dad came back with Fluffy in his arms and a smile on his face. It seems not that long ago, that dad was climbing a ladder to take debris from the eavestroughs, trimming trees, raking the grass and shoveling the snow. Dad was an able and fit man practically to the end of his life. He will forever live in the hearts and minds of Christa, Gary and his grandchildren Pamela and Jason. MEMORIES BY HIS SON, CHARLIE Dad love me........................................... When I think back, we did a lot together. I remember him teaching me to drive in our old blue Volkswagen. When he was driving, my friends and I would sit in the back cubby hole of the old car, driving around. My fondest memories are of hockey. My dad loved hockey...., we all know that. He took me and a couple team mates to every tournament that he could. He never missed one of my games if he could help it. He was funny, as with the Border Kings, the Bandits, and with any team that I played for, if we lost, it was because of the reffing, always!! We spent a lot of time together at the Lake. He loved to fish and he loved to golf. Greg remembers that it didn't matter if he took 4 shots or 20 shots, when it came time to write down the score, he'd say "I'll take 7". Really as competitive as what he was, he just loved to be with people. It will be different now with Dad gone, but Chase and I were lucky to have shared so much with him. We'll really miss him. MEMORIES BY HIS DAUGHTER, JANICE Now that Dad is gone, I realize how lucky we all are. I have a lot of special memories of me and my dad and of course with my family, but I have chosen to emphasize a bit of the beauty of dad's life. Dad had 85 years of life Mom and Dad had 56 years of marriage Dad had 20 years of retirement He got to see all his children get married and he was able to spend time with his 5 grandchildren, Jason, Pamela, Amy, Alex and Chase. He also was blessed with 2 Great Grandsons, Liam and Kaiden. We were all able to go on a special vacation with Mom and Dad separately, Chris and Gary to Germany, Charlie to Germany and Poland, and to Hawaii on 2 occasions with my family. What dad loved.... He loved Mom, he loved us He loved hockey both local and the Boston Bruins He loved The Saskatchewan Roughriders He loved to go to the mall to drink coffee with tons of sweetener He loved to buy tools, he had some of the best He loved to tease mom, actually he just love to tease. Alex commented that she'll have no one to ask her about boyfriends now He loved his cabin at the lake. About 20 times a day, he's say, "I like it here, it is so quiet" I could go on forever with his loves Dad was a kind man and from the comments we've been given, it was recognized by many. We will truly miss dad and as sad as it's been, we just have to remember the good times, the memories. We love you Dad. Farewell. CLOSING PARAGRAPH In the last few months of his life, Grandpa would occasionally rummage around his house, obviously looking for something. Grandma would ask him what he was looking for, and he would jokingly respond that "He was looking for the day before yesterday." I am not quite sure what he meant by this, I can only think it would be for a day when life seemed less complicated, easier, when sickness and growing old weren't daily realities, when life's pleasures were abundant and activities could be enjoyed. I believe, in his passing, he has found his day before yesterday, and I believe if he could see us now, he would be so happy to see so many of your faces that are here today to honor his life. Thank you. Donations in memory of John may be made to the Lloydminster Handivan or Relay For Life.