Born in Montreal to Dymetro and Katarzyna, Ed grew up in Goose Village playing hockey on the street using newspapers for shin guards and frozen horse droppings as pucks. As a boy, he sang in the St. Ann’s church choir and worked at a grocery store making 18 cents/hr. When they wouldn’t give him a two-cent raise, he followed the men into the shipyard one morning, picked up some tools, and got a job paying $1/hr. He attended St. Ann’s Boy’s School, then Luke-Callahan High School, playing football with the Rosemount Hunkies. While working at Cable & Wireless Ltd. (later Canadian Overseas Telecommunications Corp.) he became enamoured with a beautiful young secretary named Audrey. He hired his sister, Eugenie (Jennie), for the secretarial pool so he would have an excuse to come down and talk to Audrey. They married in 1956, one of the proudest moments of his life. He took care of her until her death in 2011. Together they had two sons, John and Stephen. From 1965-1968, Ed was president of Hertz Mexico. In 1971, he joined the Jim Pattison Group and moved his family to Vancouver. He served as president of EDP Industries Ltd. then in 1975, he helped launch the Calgary Cowboys hockey team. In 1978, his business successes were recognized with an invitation to join the Young Presidents Organization. Ed loved to laugh, travel, and tell stories. The center and patriarch of his family, he had an iron will and generous nature. He was especially close to his good friend and travel companion Peter, his nephew, Ralph, and his niece, Catherine. He was proud of his grandchildren Ben, Tessa, Dylan, and Josh. His family thanks the staff at the Sage Hill Retirement Residence and the Dulcina Hospice, especially Dr. Sharma, for the care they provided to Ed in his final days.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5