Obituary for
Harry Miskey
Born near Holden, Alberta, on November 15, 1921, Harry was the oldest child of George and Jennie Miskey, both of Ukrainian descent. He had a sister, Anne, and two brothers, John and Peter. The family grew up on a mixed farm, speaking both Ukrainian and English, within a strong Ukrainian community.
Click to view: 001 Miskey Farm House
Click to view: 002 Young Harry and sister Anne
Harry’s elementary education from grades 1-8 was at Holmdene school, where he excelled, skipping a grade. The school was a mile south and two miles east of the family farm, so he rode a horse to get there. In winter his father would take him with a team of horses and a sleigh. Holmdene is now a designated historical site, but the school building is long since gone. Except for a sign, it is now only fields.
He attended high school in Holden, where he boarded across the street from the school. His parents would drop him off at school on Monday mornings, with food and clean clothes, and then pick him up on Friday afternoon to take him home to the farm. He graduated from high school in 1940.
Click to view: 1940 Holden High School Class, top row, third from left
That Fall, at the age of 18, he moved on his own to Edmonton where he took a one year accounting and business course at Alberta College. After completing his course, he worked for Great West Distributors in Edmonton as an office assistant (accounting and office work). Great West was the distributor of “Red Head Gas and Oil” products to service stations.
In September of 1942, Harry set off for Toronto to attend the Radio College of Canada. After receiving his diploma, he moved to Montreal to work at the RCA Victor plant, where communication radios for the Department of National Defence were being made. There he lived in a boarding house in the Westmount district, about a 20 minute walk from the RCA plant. Room and board included breakfast, lunch was bought at the plant (about 25 cents), and supper was usually eaten out. His work involved testing, aligning and trouble shooting the large console radio sets used for communication between army tanks. The work lasted until May 1945 when WWII ended and the RCA Victor facility closed.
Click to view: Harry 1943
In the summer of 1945, Harry returned to Toronto to work for General Electric in one of their plants that manufactured radios. At the end of the assembly line, he was responsible for testing the radios for volume, band frequency, and general quality. The following year he returned home and began working at “Allen’s” hardware store in Holden.
Harry’s father George Miskey, and brother-in-law Walter Trohimchuk, purchased the International Harvester dealership in Mundare in 1947. The dealership sold farm implements and equipment, as well as household appliances.
Click to view: 005 Mundare Implement Shop
Harry joined them at the business, and used his business training as well as his talent for radio repair, handling both the office work as well as operating a small radio sales and repair shop. He soon met his future wife when May Ozubko, a teacher at the school in Mundare, brought in her radio to be repaired.
Click to view: 006 Harry and May
May Ozubko was born near Lamont, and taught in the rural school system from the age of 19, until she was transferred to Mundare. Harry and May were married on July 16, 1949 at St. Josephat’s Church in Edmonton. The wedding party included Mary Letwin, maid of honour, flower girl Diane Kirkland (née Trohimchuk), best man Adolf Kolodychuk, and groomsman Mike Hrabec. Harry and May recounted that the weather on the wedding day was so stormy that it was terrifying!
Click to view: 007 Harry and May’s Wedding 1949
They honeymooned in Banff, which was to become one of their favourite vacation destinations.
Click to view: 008 Harry and May in Banff, 1949
Click to view: 009 Yellowstone 1951
They bought a red brick house in Mundare, about one block from the implement dealership and began their family with their first child, Larry, born on January 26, 1952.
In 1955 Harry, May, and Larry moved to Edmonton to a house in the new subdivision of Ritchie. That same year Harry’s younger brother Peter graduated from the University of Alberta as a pharmacist, and the two brothers started a pharmacy, named “Western Pharmacy, which was located in downtown Edmonton at 10310 – 101 Street.
Peter and Harry opened a second drugstore in 1958, at 118 Avenue and St. Albert Trail. Peter ran the new store location as well, and Harry hired a pharmacist for the downtown store. Many doctors’ offices were located in the Tegler and McLeod buildings, so the downtown location was well situated. But a few years later, the City of Edmonton began installing parking meters in the downtown core, and street parking was prohibited after 4 pm. This was a hardship for the pharmacy’s customers, many whom were from out of town. Business suffered, and ultimately, the decision was made to close the downtown store around 1960.
In the meantime, Harry and May’s family was growing, with the addition of Robert, Shirley, and Neil.
During the fall of 1960, the strip mall on 118 Avenue and St. Albert Trail was expanding. Harry and Peter also had an ownership in this shopping complex through a holding company. With the expansion, there was an opportunity to put in a 16 lane bowling alley, which they named Coral Bowl. This was located on the lower level of the complex. Kids and cousins from the Miskey & Trohimchuk families created a ‘pool of labor resources’, enabling all of the youngsters to gain work experience at both the drug store and bowling alley.
In 1960, the Miskey’s moved from their Ritchie home to the Valleyview neighbourhood. May continued to teach, and the kids went to St. Rose School, which was very nearby.
In 1965, some property became available in Buena Vista, so a lot was purchased for $5,000 and a custom home was built. The builder was John Muzyka and the architect was Dave Dubeta. Harry had the option to purchase from the City of Edmonton the adjacent lane way, resulting in a bigger lot. It made it possible to have ample room on the west side of the house, and a large vegetable garden. Harry and May never relinquished their farm roots, and every year there was a home grown crop of crab apples, raspberries, peas, carrots, rhubarb, potatoes and so on.
After the four kids had all graduated from University, Harry began to think about retirement. By the early 1980‘s he had sold the businesses, and in 1986 Harry and May moved into a new bungalow in Horizon Village at Whitemud. Shortly thereafter, Harry and May began square dancing, which they enjoyed together for about 10 years. Other hobbies included gardening, photography, Travel Film presentations, bowling, repairing things around the house and drug store, maintaining his vehicles, and volunteering for church bingos.
St. Basil’s Church involvement included attending services, clubs, and fundraising. Harry had been very active with the Knights of Columbus, becoming a 4th degree Knight in 1991. Harry & May were strongly committed to donating to the needy in Ukraine on a regular basis.
Harry took his growing family on yearly summer camping vacations, pulling a trailer behind the car. They all loved going to the mountains, to BC, the Okanagan, west coast, and across the prairies. As the children grew older and more independent, Harry and May continued to be avid travellers as a couple, interested in other cultures and places in the world. This was reflected in the many trips they took over their lifetime, continuing well into their eighties. Some of the highlight destinations were Yellowstone Park, Montreal’s Expo ’67, trips to Europe with the Edmonton Youth Orchestra, Ukraine in 1983 (where they visited George Miskey’s birthplace and connected with relatives), as well as New Zealand, Hawaii, Costa Rica, and Cuba.
Harry was a devoted father, dedicated to providing the very best for his family. He enabled his three sons and daughter to feel safe, secure and loved, throughout their childhood, beginning with supporting their many adventures in school, music & dance lessons, and later well into their adulthood with support for travel, chosen professions, and gentle guidance raising their families.
As well as having a strong sense for business, Harry possessed an easy-going, relaxed demeanour, and a clever and subtle sense of humour. Recently, one of his caregivers recounted “He’s always joking and kidding around. Usually, the same jokes but once in awhile he comes up with a new one!”
After May went to Heaven, Harry remained very close to his children, and was steadfast in being sure to speak to each one of them daily, and continuing to surround them with the security of family love.
Harry continued to be healthy throughout his 100th year, but finally his heart slowly gave way. On February 12, 2022, he left this world peacefully, with his daughter at his side.
He is survived by his brother Peter, sons Robert (Anne) and Neil (Dianne), daughter Shirley (Kurt Paterson), grandchildren Marcus, Sean, Brock, Nicholas, Thomas, and Eliana. Predeceased by his wife May (Ozubko), son Larry, brother John, and sister Anne (Trohimchuk).
Till we meet again ….
“The tide recedes but leaves behind
bright seashells on the sand.
The sun goes down, but gentle
warmth still lingers on the land.
The music stops, and yet it echoes
on in sweet refrain …
For every joy that passes,
something beautiful remains.”
Martha Vashti Pearson
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Harry
Miskey 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Lamont, Province: Alberta