Mursel Harry Kluke

On March 10^th, 2024, Mursel Harry Kluke entered the next phase of his journey. He passed peacefully and serenity  to join family and friends in the Kingdom of Heaven. Mursel is lovingly remembered by wife of 52 years – Marge – his two children Maria (Dennis), and Chris (Kyla), and grandchildren Tristan, Annyka and Aidyn.  Many nieces and nephews described Mursel as “their favorite Uncle”.

Mursel honoured his farming background.  He grew up on the family farm in Benito, MB and earned his Diploma in Agriculture from the University of Manitoba.  After various postings, Mursel’s career settled as a Farm Water Technologist with Manitoba Agriculture in Beausejour.  He retired in 2009 after serving 36 years, and became known as “the Water Man”.

Mursel was very community oriented.  He was president of his high school student council.  He was a co-founder and president of the Splash Aquatic Centre in Beausejour – constructing and opening a public swimming pool for the town. He was president of the Troyanda Ukrainian Dance Ensemble, bringing the dance group to several international tours.  He volunteered at various missions and fully embraced the concept of “feeding the poor in body and spirit” with all his heart.  He is a life-long member of the Knights of Columbus, and he coached many of his children’s sports teams. 

Mursel loved sports! As a young man he was a baseball back catcher in Benito, and an avid curler with the KUBISH rink in Beausejour.  He loved fishing, boating, and golfing (although – he spent more time looking in the bush for golf balls than golfing).  He collected hockey and baseball cards, and always had some kind of sports on TV.  Many family holiday adventures included seeking out sports stadiums.  He always enjoyed being outside and was often out picking mushrooms, saskatoons and berries.  He loved showing and sharing his bounty with family and friends.

Mursel loved good food!  He was crazy for lobster (even though the first time he enjoyed it, he thought it was mashed potatoes on a lobster shell).  He loved every type of sweets and has stashes of candy, licorice, chips and chocolates in the house.  Everyone who came to visit knew where the “treat cupboard” was.  He often brought something sweet into the office to share with his co-workers.  He even brought cinnamon buns into the dentist’s office!

He loved his Ukrainian culture and traditions, especially around the holidays! He was a deeply faithful man who kept his Ukrainian Catholic faith alive.  At the end of his life, he instructed his family to “keep the traditions.”  That is what we’ll do!

None of his accomplishments matched how much Mursel loved spending time with his family. His face would always light up when they would visit. Ever a family man, his legacy is rich in how much love he always gave his family.  Relatives reminisce about Mursel making trouble and having fun in Benito with his many cousins, “decorating” couples’ cars at weddings, and pouring drink after drink.  Mursel and Marge would often travel long distances to visit their brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews – and they cherished those visits very much.  But Mursel’s greatest loves were being a devoted husband, Dad and Gida.

Anyone who knew him knew he was a quiet, gentle soul with a light heart who always put other’s considerations before his own. Even at the end, the way he passed made it as soft of a landing as possible for the ones who loved him the most. He wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Divine Liturgy will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, 250 Jefferson Avenue, Winnipeg.

Donations in Mursel’s memory can be made to:

CancerCare Manitoba or Dr. Ali Rajput – Division of Neurology, Royal University Hospital, Saskatoon, SK  S7N 0W8. Dr. Rajput is conducting research in hopes of learning more about Mursel and his family’s rare involuntary tremors. 

Mursel’s family would like to express gratitude to the Beausejour Hospital Staff for their compassionate care, especially Helen and Scottie. 

Vichnayat Pam’yat – Eternal Memory!

www.soberingfuneralchapel.com

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