NICK DANYLUK ~
December 15, 1919 to October 22, 2015
With much sadness we announce the passing of our father, Nick Danyluk , but at the same time we are happy for Dad because we know he is now in a happier, peaceful world.
Dad leaves his five children, LaVerne, Gerald, Ty, David and Nicki. Sadly, Dad will no longer have the wonderful experience to enjoy his 6 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren who will grow up with- out their great grandfather.
Nick emigrated to Canada from Beilo Berezhny, Ukraine in 1929 with his mother, father and one sister just before the Russian Revolution. They left two brothers in the “Old Country” but just one was to follow a year later. His father, Wasyl, was a policeman for the last Czar of Russia. There was trouble brewing in Russia and Ukraine -- he knew it was time to find a better, safer place to raise his family—he chose Canada. Dad grew up in Saskatchewan on his Dad’s farm near Preeceville and eventually rode the rails as a strong, adventurous young man in search of work in Toronto and other areas of Ontario and also in Manitoba. Dad tried to enlist in the Canadian military during WWII but was refused because he didn’t speak English well enough. The military wanted Dad to work the farm as his contribution to the war effort. He eventually married Josephine Denys and brought “Josie” and their two young children, LaVerne and Gerald, to Vancouver Island where in 1944 he began his long and very respected career as a Faller in the Alberni area for Bloedel Stew- art and Welch. In the 50’s he worked for Jim Arden as a Faller and then later again for M & B. Unfortunately, many of his collegues died in the woods but thankfully not Dad. He was so skilled in his difficult work that he could drop a monster tree on a dime. He retired at age 65 but not before spending 5 years training young Fallers for M & B, not just how to fall but how to fall danger-trees. Dad earned much respect from others in the forest industry and was known for his abilities in other parts of British Columbia—for some he was a legend. Dad was a man of principles, strong, at times mischievious, he was loving and kind and he appreciated the natural world. He will be missed.