July 9, 1933 - March 20, 2024
We are saddened to announce the passing of our father, Edward Theodore Demchuk on March 20, 2024. Ed passed away peacefully in Courtenay, BC at the age of 90.
Ed was born in Edmonton, Alberta on July 9, 1933. He grew up in Vegreville, Alberta and often praised how great it was for a young person there with great friends, teachers and coaches. In high school, Ed was an avid hockey player and was chosen to play juniors in Lethbridge. The high school annual commented on his smooth skating and nifty playmaking.
In early adulthood, Ed married Grace, and he chose aeronautics for his first career. This took his young family to Montreal and then Seattle. However, Ed longed to be in control of his own destiny and to become his own boss so the family moved back to Canada.
In 1964, Ed graduated with a Pharmacy degree from the University of Saskatchewan. Shortly after, he took his family to Whitehorse, Yukon where he became a staff pharmacist with the Kee Bird Drugstore on Main Street.
In 1972, Ed became the franchise owner of Shoppers Drug Mart at that same location. Over the next 25 years, his pharmacy thrived along with other business investments in town, including the building of a walkway over Third Avenue to keep shoppers warm during the cold Yukon winters. Ed would often go into the pharmacy on days when it was closed to fill a prescription for someone from out of town or for an emergency. He was an admired businessman and caring boss.
Ed continued his interest in hockey by playing for 918 Construction and the Canucks in the Whitehorse Senior Hockey League during the 1960s & 1970s. Ed's other passion was golf. Starting on natural fairways and sand 'greens' at Annie Lake Road; he later became a member of the Mountainview Golf Club in the 1990's. He always enjoyed going out for a round with his "cronies".
Over his entire life, Ed loved to travel and went to many places in Europe, Asia Pacific, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Central America; often taking the family.
In his last twenty years he settled in Courtenay, BC and enjoyed the pleasant climate, golf, friends, and especially his house, where he had many pictures of his family and Yukon scenes.
Ed is predeceased by his sisters Audrey and Jean, and leaves behind his son Bruce (Tracy), daughters Beverly (Joni) & Susan, and grandchild Noah.
We will miss our father dearly.