Thank You For Being A Dad

My Dad, Edward John Mazurek was born May 28, 1936. His parents were Joseph and Christine. Dad was the youngest of 6 children and he grew up on the Mazurek Homestead.

Dad went to a little school in the country which was called Hillock school. He went there until grade 8 and then went to Innisfree school until grade 10. Dad left school after grade 10 and started his carpentry career when he was 16. Along with his carpentry my Dad also continued working on the family farm.

As a kids we remember hearing stories about the animals, especially the horses on the farm. We also remember the stories of Dads nightlife which consisted of girls, dancing and enjoying some drinks.

At one of the nightlife dances I spoke of above my Dad met my Mom Patricia. June 4, 1966 they were to become husband and wife.

At the beginning of their marriage Mom and Dad lived in Vegreville where they started a family. I was their first born. I was born in 1967.

After my birth Mom and Dad decided to move to Edmonton, Alberta where Dad could pursue his career in carpentry/construction. In their time in Edmonton Dad worked for a couple construction companies.

Between work Mom and Dad had two more children with Kathy being born in 1969 and Tammy in 1973.

Their lives were full of being all about their kids. They got up early to go to hockey games and practices while also going to ball games all summer long. Dads love for softball saw him coach girls softball for many, many years.

Dad finally decided he wanted to start his own business so him and mom packed us up and moved to a small town in Alberta where he started the company Eds Miracle Contracting.

Anytime anyone would walk into his shop they can remember seeing Dad with a pencil behind his ear and there was without fail always sawdust in his hair. Dad was one of the most talented carpenters I have ever met.

While Dad was running a successful business he still had the love of ball in his veins. Because of this he decided to become a professional umpire.

Our lives were always full of activity like all night games of Canasta, camping every weekend and we could never forget his love for the Edmonton Oilers. It didn't matter if it was the first or last game of the season he was always on the edge of his seat cheering.

Life went on with Dad teaching his kids to drive and watching all 3 graduate. Mom and Dad were lucky enough to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. Then he was able to be a part of me getting married to my best friend Jackie in August of 1988.

In 1991 after the loss of his brother Dad jumped in to make sure his brother had all the help he needed on the family homestead. Besides carpentry farming was something Dad loved to do almost more than anything else.

Also by 1991 Dad was enjoying his 3 grandsons Steven, Cameron and Joshua. He was now enjoying cheering them on in their hockey and soccer games.

Time went on with more work, more Canasta, more camping and so on. Then in 1999 everything came to a screeching halt with the very unexpected loss of the love of his life. For a while of course we were all devastated but none as much as Dad.

With tears in his eyes and sadness in his heart he realized life had to move forward. There were trips to the mountains, Christmas spent at Dales. With Dads loneliness he needed to fill the void somehow. He knew no one could ever take moms spot but he did acquire a cat that he soon fell in love with. Misty was the new love of his life. His companion for life. Misty will miss Dad very much.

Dad worked so hard all his life.  In 2001 he decided it was time to stop working and enjoy life.  After 49 years in a business he loved so much he hung up his tools to move forward with retirement.

In his first year of retirement while enjoying much time with family Dad was very excited to hear that he was going to be a Grandpa again.  This time my sister Kathy would give birth to Dads only grand daughter Kallie.

Kallie brought even more joy to Dads life.  He loved taking her for Nuggets at McDonalds and then to Dairy Queen for ice cream.

Dad was so happy enjoying his retirement with family and friends.  He didnt have to work at being a special person.  His smile and love came naturally.

Well time was moving on. This year in the summer Dad decided it was time to move on once again. He decided it was time to put the family home for sale and move closer to where he could even enjoy his friends and family more.

Dad only 7 weeks ago purchased a 52 inch television so he could enjoy the battle of Alberta hockey games even more.

Then only a week ago Dad took possession of his new home. He was so happy. He had a renewed love for life, like a kid in a candy store.

Dad wasnt to move until the middle of November but he loved his new place so much that he just had to visit it everyday.

Of course we are all deeply saddened but we know that even though Dad only had it for a few days he died at a place he quickly fell in love with.

Dad we all hope you are now with Mom. We know you will never suffer or worry again. We have and will always love you.

So Dad from Dale, Jackie, Steven, Cameron, Joshua, Kathy, Kallie, Tammy and Misty we will always love you and miss you.

So once more but not the last time.

We Love You