Our hearts and our spirits are saddened to announce the end of a kind and colorful era when our beloved Dad, Papa and Friend EUGENE KUSH, Q.C. “crost the bar” at his Tree House in Hanna, Alberta on December 2, 2002 at the age of 72 years. While the sky grew instantly brighter with a new and mischievous aurora, many on this earth lost an irreplaceable twinkle.
Eugene was born at home in Calgary, Alberta on February 28, 1930 to parents Nick and Katherine Kush, shortly after their arrival on a boat from their home country in Russia. Neither of his parents spoke English and life was a hard and difficult struggle. With the births of his sisters, Mary and Eva, Gene became the kind of big brother one could only imagine! While he took great glee in getting the girls into trouble, he never left them hanging for long and could always talk his way out of a corner.
They moved to Clancy, 6 miles north of Brooks in 1939, and the Kush Family took up the adventure of farming with a fierce determination. Gene and his Dad shared a common interest in electronics and every room in the house then
and to this day, was always full of various inventions and electrical components. Words were like magic keys to Eugene, and he secretly read and wrote exams for his father, helping him to get his gasfitter’s license and
steam heating license which lead to the formation of “Kush Plumbing and Heating”.
Eugene’s love of the ocean and of fishing came from his mother, Katherine, and his first expeditions were to the Aquaduct and Lake Newell. He would later share many memorable adventures with son Murray at Campbell River,
B.C. and they both lived to tell several “near death” stories, blamed entirely upon Skipper Griffith and various other accomplices.
As a member of the 1949 Grade 12 Graduating Class at Brooks High School “Gene was Gene”. He kept in touch regularly over the years with many members of his class, whom he firmly believed were the most admirable group of cronies one could have. He marveled, recently,however, at how the rest appeared to be showing signs of old age, while he remained a “youngster”. They never admitted to most of their pranks, but witnesses remain today in Brooks who can tell the tales of the Fleury/Headrick/Valli escapades. The
girls shall remain anonymous!
The University of Alberta campus in Edmonton was a long way from home and Eugene entered the Arts Faculty in 1949 with his sights set on conquering the world. He was articulate to the point of annoyance and his insatiable curiosity continued to get him in and out of variouspredicaments. As a member of the Law and Debating Clubs, editor of the University Paper, and a member of the St. Stephen’s Theological College executive, he added excitement to whatever project he was on. No arrests were ever made!
Eugene earned his B.A. LLB at the spring convocation at the University of Alberta on May 14, 1953 and he moved south to Vulcan where he undertook his Articles with the John Macauley Jamison Law Firm. He became known as a fighter and a scrapper with a devious and eloquent command of the
law. He studied long and he worked very hard and was admitted to the Bar before Mr. Justice W.G. Egbert of the Alberta Supreme Court on June 6, 1955.
He felt lucky and blessed to have met the love of his life, and he sweet-talked Gladys Stephanie Marie Krokosh of Vauxhall into marrying him on October 22, 1955. Theirs was a love born of sacrifice and hard work. Eugene crossed the Province of Alberta traveling from court room to court
room in the days of dirt roads and unreliable vehicles and he began to earn himself a bullish reputation in the legal profession.
Their first daughter, Niki-Jeanne was born in June 1957 and that was the beginning of a fiercely loyal friendship and partnership which would flourish under his loving and gentle direction.
The family moved to Hanna, Alberta in 1958, taking over the law practice from Bill Major. Gene loved small towns and became a champion of the farmer and the rancher from the minute he stepped foot into rural Alberta. In October 1958 Murray Eugene entered the world and life was good. Gene had a fishing partner and a son to pass on his values of hard work, honesty and integrity.
In 1967, Gene and Gladys embarked upon a unique “Centennial Project” and in August, their daughter, Tammie Jean, was born. The family was complete in number and the family years were filled with school, piano, hockey and
picketing the local school board office – just the usual events!
The fire burned brightly throughout the next couple decades and Eugene earned the respect of many for his straight shooting and unorthodox ways. He was appointed to the Queen’s Counsel on February 3, 1972 by Lieutenant
Governor, Grant MacEwan. He traveled to argue in the Supreme Court of Canada, was asked to speak at the University of Kiev in Russia, appeared on the Dini Petty Show, took his family on summer vacations to Osoyoos and he
continued to take on the work of 10 men.
The death of his beloved Mother in 1978 was a terrible shock but he turned the bad into good making positive changes to the system wherever and whenever he could. He did not understand the word “can’t”. It was not in
his vocabulary, in any of the languages that he spoke.
In October 1984, Eugene Kush joined the ranks of “Grandfatherhood” and his life was changed forever. Kaylie Marie’s birth helped to blunt the loss of
Gladys in February, 1985 and Papa became a champion of a new generation. Reading and the love of words was so very, very important to Gene, and many hours were spent playing “O’s” at the kitchen table and reading the classics
to the grandkids. Stephanie Rae joined the family in 1986, Braden Lionel in 1988 and Brittanie Nikole in 1992. The kids adored Papa and he adored them. He sat them at the computer as soon as they could bend, and was a driving
force in their education from the time they were born. Education was always the key. Gene never forgot where he came from and instilled in his children and grandchildren a respect and a reverence for hard work and dedication to
society. The birth of Tammie’s two children, Levi Brice in 1995 and Madison Sierra in 1996 made the circle complete. He touched them across the miles with his special packages and letters. They share his love of travel and technology with their first computer being a gift from their Grandpa before they could even talk.
The Law Office in Hanna continued to flourish and Gene continued to have fun with his work. The formation of the Hemaruka and District Flat Earth Society, an institution dedicated to championing any issue that lacked support or financial means gave him an outlet to fight his causes. People laughed and people listened and Gene never ever stopped trying to make the world a better place for the common man.
He was generous and he was kind. He will be missed. His legacy: “I am a small town, prairie lawyer. Remember, you dance with them that brung ya.”
Eugene leaves to celebrate his life, daughter Niki-Jeanne and Murray Rooke, grandchildren Kaylie, Stephanie, Braden and Brittanie of Pollockville, Alberta, son Murray Eugene of Calgary, daughter Tammie and Peter Douglass, grandchildren Levi and Madison of Richland, Washington,
U.S.A. Sisters Mary (Peter) Hoeppner and Eva (Gordon) Philpott both of Medicine Hat, Alberta, brother-in-law Fred Krokosh (Josephine) of Lethbridge and several nieces and nephews throughout Alberta.
THERE WILL BE A MEMORIAL SERVICE IN CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF EUGENE KUSH, Q.C. ON MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2002 AT THE REDEEMER LUTHERAN CHURCH, HANNA, ALBERTA AT 2:00 P.M. Donations in memory of the Chief Executive Officer of the Hemaruka and District Flat Earth Society may be made to the Eugene and Gladys Kush Memorial Scholarship, c/o PLRD #25, P.O. Box 1400, Hanna, Alberta. T0J 1P0.
