Mr. John Henry Burak, 72 of Calgary, Alberta, succumbed to cancer on September 23, 2020. John is survived by, his three sons; Michael, Ian, and Bradley Burak, his mother Catharina Dekker Burak, his brothers; Paul, and James Burak, and his sisters; Rose, and Mary Anne Barton. John was a loving and considerate man; he would always take the time to listen and understand. Apart from his giving heart, he had a great sense of sarcasm humor, he was an excellent listener, and had a one-of-a-kind character. We are all fortunate to have had him in our lives and anyone who connected with him is better for it. Below are some of the words from the family:

Paul Burak (Brother): As children there was a time when John and I (Paul) decided we needed spending money to buy alleys (marbles) and candies so we raided our Father's coin collection. We took $2.00 to $3.00 worth of nickels. Unbeknownst to us, they were the 1945 wartime V (victory) nickels. As a result of our shopping, we enjoyed our candy but lost all our alleys to the better players at school. Feeling guilty we told our Mom about the nickels and she felt obliged to advise our Dad. Unfortunately, this news was not well received. To make up for this later in life, I (Paul) went to a coin collector and purchased several dollars worth of V nickels and returned them to our Dad. On a funny note, I am the owner of the coin collection! As part of our childhood, John and I kicked stones all throughout Westfort with our neighborhood friends, and many fun times were had by all.

John: Despite the difficult times we had growing up at home, we were able to transform those challenging experiences by creating a loving atmosphere with our own families. A true blessing! May you Rest In Peace, John.

Rose Burak (sister): Hi Johnny, I know you're looking down on me, laughing and making sure I don't screw up on my new phone; Also I'll have to send cards to the Borak Boys since your not here to read them; but maybe I can mail you one by Angel Post now; ( ha ha.); going to miss you Johnny Copper toe, till we meet again, I'll have a Hagaslaag sandwich for you; keeping smiling, love your little sister, Rose.

James Burak (brother): In 1977 - 1978 Johnny had the janitorial contract to clean "Wheelies", Thunder Bay's popular disco roller rink after everybody went home. He and his brother would take a break from cleaning and turn on the lights and stereo and have the whole place to themselves to roller skate. Another business he ran was " Rug Doctor", which was one of the first rug cleaning companies in Thunder Bay. It was hard work because all the water was emptied in and out of the machine with 5 - gallon pails by hand - all night long! Johnny was a very friendly, funny guy, that liked to sneak up behind you, bear hug you, and give you a "sneaky lick", which was the same as a puppy licking your face. It made the children squirm and giggle their heads off. There are lots of other stories to tell you Mike, but we'll save those for a personal visit next year. Talk to you soon - Uncle Jimmy.

Michael Burak (son): My dad John, or "daddyo" as we call him, was one of the most wonderful and important people in my life. We had quite a history together. Growing up in foster care, we were separated from our dad. There was something that always held us together though. We memorized his phone number and would sneak calls to him, and he would be just eager to talk to us. It is evident that he regretted putting us into foster care, although I believe it was a great thing for us. He always wanted to be close to us. The day I turned 18, he was there for me with flying colours. He picked me up, drove me everywhere, helped me get a fridge at my new place, installed a doorknob, bought me dinners, and basically gave me everything he possibly could. It has been 20 years since then, as I moved out around August 15th, 2000. Since then, we haven't gone more than a few weeks without staying in touch.

One of the most incredible traits of my dad was that he never ever judged you. It didn't matter what you were doing. I left my religion, I did all sorts of things that he would disapprove of, but he never showed any signs of judgment or prejudice. He just said, "well, that's not good, is it?" and let you do the rest. It didn't change how much he wanted to be with me, and it certainly didn't stop his willingness to help me out. It felt like no matter what I did or said, he was there for me. Now, he always wanted us to "watch our language" and not swear around him. He was adamant about following the speed limit in the car "slow down, Michael, slow down" he'd say. One time, we spent a few hours listening to a comedy skit. One of the lines was from the kids where they would say "Daddy's going out? Daddy's going out?" and the kids would cry. So from that moment on, dad and I would always say when he was on his way to do something out of the house "Daddy's going out?!" and we'd say it like the kids in the comedy skit (with a lot of enthusiasm) and he'd always reply: "yep, daddy's going out!".

After I turned 18, so much happened. I was saving for my mission, but dad just wanted me to be me. We went to the keyboard shop and he helped me pick out a keyboard. He drove me around almost everywhere and was there to support me in anything I did. The wonderful thing about dad was that he somehow dealt with his difficult past and turned into a cheery loving guy who just wanted to help you. He was there for us 24/7 (literally!) and would drive me home from the airport at 2 AM or pick me up at 4 AM. He was always there to help me change the oil in my car or just hang out. Some of the best advice I have ever received in my life came from dad. To sum it up, he said "why don't you try something with languages?" instead of working on the handyman company that I was starting to commit to and build. The response was, "hmm, why not?" 9 years later, I am running a successful translation business. Dad literally was always there. I could call him anytime, even at work. He'd answer and say "Hi Mike, I'm in the car, I'll call you back soon, OK?" and he'd call back every time. After retirement, it was all the more easy to get a hold of him. When he delayed answering the reason was usually, "I was on the phone with Ian, or I was on the phone with Brad". Dad never missed an event. He was there for my University Graduation, for every award, for every company launch party and he would even come to watch me play beginner hockey. During games, he'd be texting Ian the score "It's 2-0 for Mikey's team!". I must have spent thousands of hours with dad. During the last few years of his life, the tables turned a bit and time with dad turned into me running errands or going to Walmart with him. I definitely complained a lot but always did it. I helped him set up home care to clean up his place, I set up grocery deliveries so I could play crib instead of going to Walmart with him, all sorts of fun things.

Dad, I want you to know, you'll always be here in my heart. I love you forever and will always remember your smile and kindness. You had a good attitude all the way up to the end; I'll never forget it. I miss your presence, but will never forget your smile.  Love Meeko

Our family wishes to express our sincere thanks for the expressions of love during our time of bereavement. Online condolences can be sent to: burakfamily1@gmail.com