Railway worker, union leader, community activist.
Born in Poland on 6 September 1909, son of John Kowalchuk and Francisca Kowalchuk (c1877-1962), he immigrated with his parents to Canada in 1912, and settled at Transcona. In the late 1930s, he began working at the B & B Department of the CNR Transcona Shops and, in 1941, became active in the Brotherhood Maintenance of Way Employees (BMWE). He retired in 1977 as International Secretary-Treasurer of the BMWE and was presented with a 50 Year Merit Award.
On 18 June 1938, he married Anne Lazaruk at St. Ivan’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Winnipeg. They had one son and one daughter and resided in Transcona. In recognition of his community service, he received an award from Transcona Seniors, the City of Winnipeg Community Services Award (1983), and the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (1992). He was also active in municipal and provincial political campaigns until the 1990s.
He died at Winnipeg on 6 January 2004 and was buried in the Transcona Cemetery.
“Kowalchuk - Lazruk,” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 July 1938, page 9.
Obituary [Francisca Kowalchuk], Winnipeg Free Press, 18 June 1962, page 23.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 January 2004, page 18.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer.
Page revised: 3 September 2014
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