Koziw, Morris
Morris Kuziw was born in the Primula District, AB on July 12, 1911. Times were tough and when Morris was two years old, his family returned to their native home in the Ukraine. Times were no easier there. World War I separated Morris from his family. They traveled between Lviv Ukraine, Hamburg Germany and finally back to Canada in 1921. After a year-long hospitalization for glaucoma, Morris was released at eleven years of age. He was in a foreign country where he did not speak the language. He journeyed home alone with his name, his father’s name and his destination pinned on his coat.
Morris was educated in the Ukraine and Canada until he was 14 years old. Then, from 1925-1935 young Morris, with his father Pete, ran a mixed farm at Primula, AB. In 1936, Morris bought a John Deere Implement Dealership in Heinsburg, AB and married a pretty nurse, Agnes Chartier, in 1937. They had three children Leona (1938), Robert (1939) and Theresa (1941). The children were young when the family bought a mixed grain/black Angus cattle farm at Ellesworth, AB. Hard work and wonderful neighbors lived here.
In 1956, the Kuziw’s sold the farm and bought their first hotel in Champion. Two years later they sold it and bought the Beiseker Hotel. In 1963 they retired to Calgary, bought a home and bought and managed an apartment there. Morris and Agnes eventually returned to Champion for a year to re-establish the business there. At the time they had to convert the heating system from gas to coal and back to gas again. While they were in Calgary, Morris and Agnes bought the King Edward Hotel in Strathmore. This joint venture from 1963 to 1977 was with their son, Bob (& Carolyn) Kuziw. At that time hotels in Strathmore closed at 11:00 p.m. and it was common for everyone to head to Calgary for Chinese Food after closing. The Kuziws ran this business for about 14 years. Morris belonged to the Legion and the Strathmore people became the hub of their world.
In 1983, Morris and Agnes built a house in the Rutland area of Kelowna, B.C. and lived there for ten years. When that parcel of land was sold to the United Church, Morris bought the house on Chichester Court. During this time Morris and Agnes were involved with the musical ‘Melody Makers’. Morris enjoyed politics and religion and he liked to argue about both. His favorite pastimes were playing Bridge or Canasta, gardening and spending time with his family. He was also active in the Greek Orthodox Church.
He will be remembered for his meticulous work and his ordinary life –eating breakfast of bacon and eggs, feeding the geese, drinking sweet and creamy cups of hot coffee, driving his Cadillac or scooter and replanting cucumbers that his granddaughter ‘didn’t seed in hills’ . He was a good finishing carpenter and always completed the projects that he started. He traveled to the Ukraine on many occasions, taking his two daughters there in 2005. Together, Morris and Agnes also traveled to Spain, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji and to Hawaii many times.
Morris and Agnes were married for 52 years –a wonderful accomplishment in itself. In addition to three children, Leona (Peter) Trach, Robert (Carolyn) Kuziw and Theresa Versluys, they had 12 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great grandchildren. Morris passed away in Kelowna on October 12, 2010 at the age of 99 years. His Funeral Service was held @Springfield Funeral Home Family Center on Friday, October 15, 2010. His final resting place is @St. Theresa’s Catholic Cemetery. The family is consoled by the presence and kindness of others, especially those who loved and cared for ‘grandpa’ during his life, including his caregivers from Cottonwoods.