The following obituary contains additional information. Due to an error the full obituary was not printed previously. Mr. John Surkan formerly of Yorkton, widower of Frances Surkan passed away peacefully in Calgary on December 26, 2013 at the age of 94 years. He is lovingly remembered by his four children, Larry (Janice) Surkan, Susan (George) Feswick, David (Michelle) Surkan, Grace (Edward) Maxwell, grandson, Brenden Maxwell, sister Doris Rusnack, brother Matt (Viola) Surkan and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Nick and Lena Surkan, his wife Frances and his sister Katherine Surkan. John was born in the Insinger District on August 7, 1919 and grew up on the family farm. He was the eldest of four children. He attended the Insinger Village School and later Aysgarth School. In 1940 he moved to Vancouver, BC and got a job on a coastal freighter hauling material between Tacoma WA and Alaska. On October 2, 1941 he reported for basic training in the Army and was trained as a gunner. He was posted to the 85th Field Battery 24th Field Regiment RCA. In 1943 the Canadians agreed to assist the Americans to reclaim the Aleutian Islands from the Japanese and he was sent to Kiska as the 24th Regiment was part of the brigade. After his discharge in February, 1946 he enrolled in a Motor Mechanics course in Saskatoon. On March 31, 1951 he married Frances Halek from the Theodore area and they settled in Insinger and farmed there for 10 years. During this period they had four children. In 1961, John took a job as a steam boiler operator with the Radar Base in Orcadia and years later in the heating plant at the Yorkton Regional High School. After 14 years of shift work, he decided to go farming again and continued to farm into his early sixties. John enjoyed working with raw stones and was a member of the Rock & Gem club in Yorkton, and over the years made many pieces of jewellery from rocks he had picked. He was also an avid gardener and his children enjoyed his fruits of labor when they would visit him in Yorkton. He spent many a winter evening cataloguing his extensive coin collection, or reading many of his books as he was interested in history and world affairs. During his retirement years he travelled extensively, to the Ukraine where his parents were born, Europe, Hawaii, The Caribbean and many parts of the United States. In October, 2012 he moved to the Colonel Belcher Care Home in Calgary to be closer to his daughters. The Funeral Service was held on Saturday, January 4, 2014 Yorkton Memorial Gardens Family Centre with Mr. Mel Keeble of Yorkton Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses officiating. The interment took place at Yorkton City Cemetery with Glen Bradshaw, Glen Brown, Horatio Gnyp, George Feswick, Brenden Maxwell and Ed Maxwell serving as the casket bearers. At the luncheon tributes were conveyed by Larry Surkan and Brenden Maxwell. The family would like to thank Dr. Kreutzer, the nurses and staff at the Colonel Belcher for their care and kindness to John and his family. We will miss him and we will cherish our memories of what a wonderful father we had. Memorials honouring John's life may be made to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Condolences can be sent to the family by visiting .
