It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Walter Lukawy, age 90, on Friday, September 2, 2022.
Walter was born in Fort William, lived in Pass Lake and at Loon Lake, where he helped his family at their hotel. It was during this time that he started his long career as an entrepreneur – from cutting ice in the winter for summer camps to raising pigs. When his family moved to the city and opened Select Quality Foods on Shuniah Street, he learned how to be a butcher alongside his father. As a young man he was a haberdasher at a quality men’s dress store and sold wax across northwestern Ontario after leaving behind hard bush survey work. As a teenager he had already bought his first piece of property. But it was apprenticing as a carpenter that gave him the scope for his future work and business. He was a hard worker that liked to work alone on projects that required a bit of ingenuity and more than a bit of jerry rigging. He took those skills and built numerous homes, duplexes and office buildings. In the late 1970’s he was one of the first contractors to see potential in a newly developed industrial area and built an office/warehouse building. He was a conscientious landlord always willing to help his tenants out.
Early in life he learnt about the merit of hard work, improvisation, and especially the value of a good deal! He loved to chat with people to find out what was happening in their lives and always left them smiling.
After a lifetime of working double shifts he retired early and bought a motor home and toured the United States and Canada with his wife Jean. Later he bought recreational property on Lake Superior. Just when most people were slowing down, he cleared the land and build a small cabin. It became a very special place where he could putter with small projects, canoe and enjoy being outside. He had a life- long love of the outdoors that he passed along to his children. In spring, he would take the family fishing in creeks along country roads and in the fall hunting for grouse. Summers in Quetico Provincial Park, Northern Lights Lake and Lake Superior were favourite places to take out the 20 ft cabin cruiser that he built by hand. This boat was the platform for his other passion – fishing, especially for lake trout. As a young man he downhill skied, golfed, played tennis and introduced his family to cross-country skiing.
He was predeceased by his wife Jean and daughter Shelley and brothers Eugene and Morris. Walter is survived by son Ken (Beth), daughter Brenda, grandson Nathan (Candi) and sister-in-law Helen Lukawy as well as several nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Walter’s life will be held at Harbourview Funeral Centre in the Reception Hall, 499 North Cumberland Street, on Friday, September 9, 2022 from 11:30 am until 1:30 pm.
