Mike was born on November 4th, 1932 in Burr, Saskatchewan, the youngest child of Maria and Dmytro Kunanec. His parents emigrated from Ukraine in the late 1920’s with sons Emil and Robert. Their eldest son Walter was prevented from leaving by the political regime in place at that time. In 1941 the family, which by now included Mike and older sisters Anne and Mary moved to Bronte, Ontario. While his father and brothers worked around the province, Mike ran the farm with his mother and sisters, supplementing their income by picking fruit and vegetables at nearby farms and delivering milk.
The family moved to Scarborough, Ontario in 1944. Over the next 8 years, Mike helped support his family by working on tobacco farms, selling pansies and delivering newspapers. Throughout high school he excelled in hockey, football and debating with his teachers over theology. He graduated from De La Salle Oaklands in 1951.
When asked what Mike did for a living, the best response is ‘jack-of-all-trades, master of all’. Jobs held over the next few years included shoe store manager, stone mason, construction foreman, radio and television repairman and carpenter.
On August 31st, 1957 he married Joan Kaskiw. Mike and Joan built their own house and moved in with their first child in 1958. They joined St. Joseph’s parish, where Mike was a founding member of the Knights of Columbus chapter.
In 1963, Mike began working at Philco-Ford of Canada, eventually becoming Ontario Branch Service Manager in 1969. In the summer of the same year he built a second story onto the house to accommodate his growing family.
Mike started his own TV and radio service company, Atkon Electronics Service Limited, with a partner in 1975. The company thrived as Mike kept up with the industry. However he was aware that with the fast pace of change in technology people were choosing ‘throw-away and replace’ over ‘repair’ and decided to close the company in 1987. He returned to construction and carpentry.
There was never an official retirement date for Mike. He was still building, renovating, repairing and planning future projects up until his death.
Mike was pre-deceased by his parents, brother Walter and sister-in-law Olga, brothers Emil and Robert, sister Sr. Junia Anne SSMI and niece Gail.
He will be deeply missed by Joan, his loving wife of over 62 years, children Susan, Patricia (Dave), Cynthia (Renato), David (Diana), Kristy (Darryl) and Daniel (Kerry-Lynn); grandchildren Joshua (Emily), Michael (Vanessa), Jessica, Nolan, Siena and Capri; sister Sr. Mary Basil SSMI; sister-in-law Sylvia (Emil), many nieces, nephews and their families and his many friends.
A visitation for Mike will be held at the Giffen-Mack Funeral Home, 4115 Lawrence Avenue East, in Scarborough, Ontario, on Wednesday, January 15, 2020, from 5 - 9 p.m. with Panachyda at 7:00 p.m. A funeral mass will take place at St. Joseph's Highland Creek Catholic Church, 200 Morrish Road, Scarborough, Ontario on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 11 a.m. Private cremation to follow.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of your choice. Donations of non-perishable food items for St. Joseph’s Outreach Program would be appreciated (a receptacle will be available at St. Joseph’s Church on the day of the funeral).
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