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A Worthy Cause
In the late 70ties following a move from Winnipeg I was fortunate to become the Referee-in-Chief for North Delta MHA.
During the recourting time, I met three individuals who were and are still very special to me and my Family.
It’s not often that you can get three young men willing to dedicated their time to referee hockey at any time, regardless of the time the game was played at.
The young men were Danny Tkachuk, Keith Burke and Brad Lazarowich and each was not only unique, they were very special to everyone.
If you saw one – you saw all three, especially at the rink and they loved to referee in Delta’s Sungod Arena, which at that time had just opened in the fall of 1977.
For hockey teams Delta had the Delta Flyers Junior A in the BCJHL, the North Shore Hurry Kings – a Senior A Club and minor hockey had a registration of over 1200 registered players.
Players like Gary Nylund, Byron Richie and Scott Bradley all played on the ice at Sungod and the back in the 70ties and early 80ties North Delta had a registration of over 1000 playing minor hockey, and all three Danny, Keith and Brad officiated all levels of the game.
No game was too small and unlike now where about 90% of officials ref for the money, at no time did any of the three ask how much they were getting paid for any game – what a changing world!!
The following note if from my Daughter Annette (George – as most know her as) who is asking for assistance in helping out one of her “Big Brothers”!
If you can find it within yourself please help her make a difference – it means the world to her!!
Hi Everyone:
Dan Tkachuk was like a big brother to me and he passed away unexpectedly in November 2014 at the young age of 52.
Dan’s Mom and brother and all his family and friends will miss his amazing laugh and love of life dearly.
Dan was so caring; he would give anything to make you happy. We all miss him so much.
Dan met a lot of us through his refereeing with North Delta Minor Hockey as well as working in the BC Junior Hockey League. He loved life so much.
Went to visit Dan Tkachuk at the cemetery today and couldn’t find him. Unfortunately, his family couldn’t afford a headstone so they did not order one.
This is very sad to me that Dan is in his resting place with no way of identifying him and the guy he was.
Good times and bad, Dan had a huge heart and doesn’t deserve to be forgotten! A gravestone gives you one last chance to memorialise a loved one who has passed away.
It’s a tribute to their life that will remain for many years to come and unfortunately this comes at great cost.
We are unable to bring one in from outside of http://www.valleyviewsurrey.ca/ as it must be ordered through the memorial gardens where he is placed.
The cost that was given to Ashley is $2577 which includes all taxes as stated by Valleyview.
The cost is too high for any one person to pay; so I’m hoping we can all come together to leave a lasting mark for Danny.
His visitor finally found him after asking several individuals and I know Danny’s Family couldn’t afford a headstone.
Unfortunately, I have no way of getting in touch them as we have tried, but we would like to see if we can help as part of his “extended” Family.
Please help us reach our goal of getting Dan a headstone.
I can’t imagine a guy so full of life leaving no mark with him and anyone that knew Danny know’s is very special to all of us.
So please, if possible let me know if you are able to help in any way and if you need any additional info, contact my Dad