Glen Joseph Jakubowski

Glen will be sorely missed. He was a wonderful husband, a proud father and family man. He treasured his many friendships forged over the years including with co-workers, fellow condo dwellers, and all those he got to know throughout his life journey.

Glen is survived by his wife of 55 years; Lucille (Mondor) and their three children; Jill Rafael (James), Mason (Meral), and Adam (Shannon Hill), siblings; Gerald (Toni), Rita Hengen, Denis (Betty), Norm (Keri) and Harv (Val). He is also remembered by his many siblings-in-law; Ida Jakubowski, Denis Mondor (Darlene Reid), Aline Boux (Brent), Paulette Robbins (John Vangolen), grandchildren; Clayton Jakubowski, Ethan Rafael, and Clerissa Jakubowski, and numerous nieces and nephews and their families.

He was predeceased by his parents; George Jakubowski and Alvina (Neuman), also his stepfather; Joe Lang, his brother Raymond, sister-in-law Marion Jakubowski, brother-in-law Dave Hengen, nephew Darrell Jakubowski and niece Jessica Jakubowski.

Glen was born and raised in Grayson, Saskatchewan until 1966 when the family moved to Regina. He studied at the University of Regina before starting his insurance career with SGI. From there he went through several career changes, including working for a masonry company, back to insurance, owning a chocolate shop, back to insurance again, and culminating in a very happy few years at Lee Valley Tools before his retirement in 2019.

Glen lived a good life. As a boy, he would happily roam the hills and fields around his hometown of Grayson with his .22 rifle, a hot dog wiener and slice of bread in his pocket for lunch, helping to temper the gopher and blackbird population for the local farmers. He loved going to the rink in the winter to skate around and maybe win the arm of a pretty girl for a round or two. There were trips to the nearby lake, outings with friends, and all the mischief a country boy could get into. When he was a little older, he would spend part of summer vacation in Regina, staying with Rita and Dave, or Jerry and Marion. He fondly remembered being allowed to fill the tub with water and sitting in it up to his neck until the water went cold. A tub with unlimited water was a luxury not to be had back home.

He loved music, and from a young age he collected hundreds of albums, CDs, cassettes and tunes whenever he could – he even had a reel-to-reel player. He enjoyed live concerts and saw many of his favourite artists, like Burton Cummings, Paul McCartney, Roy Orbison, BB King, and so many more over the years.

Glen loved the outdoors, camping in the Qu’Appelle area almost every weekend when the family was young. He would chop vast piles of wood for the fire and always left some behind for the next campers. In the early years after moving to Calgary, he enjoyed hiking in the mountains, and in the later years he would spend hours out in the yard or sitting on his deck, watching the birds in his feeders and the trees.

On almost any day of the year, he would gladly fire up the grill or smoker – rain, snow or sun. He was the ultimate “Grillmaster”, and his children are proud to follow in his footsteps.

Glen loved to travel. New Orleans was one of his favourite trips, as was the trip to Churchill Manitoba to visit friends (and polar bears). He would spend a week every year in Fairmont at the timeshare. He also enjoyed countless trips to California to visit friends and family, a couple of visits to Arizona, Hawaii, one to Mexico, and a great many road trips to BC and across the prairies. The journey was just as good as the destination in his opinion.

Glen was diagnosed with kidney disease in 2019 and found himself more fatigued over time. There were numerous hospital stays, and for the past two years home dialysis became necessary. Throughout all the appointments and setbacks, he was not one to complain, but the treatments dominated his everyday life. Of late, outings were mostly limited to lighter activities, such as sitting in the park with a bag of sunflower seeds, trips to the big stores for groceries and supplies, going for a car wash, or an excursion to the doughnut shop for coffee and a treat, and the occasional evening out with friends and family.

He is now free of the dialysis machine, the relentless itching, the bruising, the dietary restrictions, the endless medical tests, and the constant sleepiness. We are grateful that he had a wonderful last day, and made many happy memories with his friends and family right until the end.

A Celebration of Life will be held at South Calgary Funeral Centre, 12700 Macleod Trail, Calgary, on Saturday, August 16, 2025 at 1:00 pm.

If you wish to make a donation in Glen’s honour, please consider the Kidney Foundation of Canada.