Peter Joseph Rawlek

Peter Rawlek Sr. passed away peacefully on July 21, 2023, at the age of 94 years.

Peter was born on March 31st, 1929, with his twin sister Anne to John and Helena Rawlek at home on the family farm near Rycroft, Alberta.
At the age of 16, Peter moved to British Columbia to work in the logging industry. While there, he met his wife of 75 years Pauline Smoliak. He and Pauline were married in Myrnam, Alberta. Upon his return to Spirit River, Alberta, Peter farmed and ran a trucking company P. Rawlek Trucking and raised with Pauline his oldest daughter Patricia and two sons Peter Jr. and Mark. While in Spirit River, he and Pauline enjoyed Square Dancing.

After he and Pauline relocated to Edmonton, Peter continued to work driving vehicles for Hertz rental company eventually taking over scheduling for the day trippers. He enjoyed driving and working with the trippers and made many trips to Calgary and even to Saskatchewan. He was a regular at the Terwillegar swimming pool until the age of 90. He enjoyed visiting with the other regular patrons of the pool and was an inspiration to younger people. Also, he enjoyed reading and stayed up to date on current events.

Peter also enjoyed his relationship with his children and grandchildren and made many trips to Canmore, Strathmore, and Eaglesham to visit his family. He attended both high school and university graduations of his children and grandchildren with Pauline.
People who were fortunate to know Peter will remember him as a person of integrity. Giving his word meant a great deal to him and as a result he was well respected and trusted. He was also very generous and went out of his way to help others as he was always willing to help someone in need. His favorite saying was “Two wrongs never made a right,” which was commonly followed with “If you can’t do a person any good, don’t do them any harm”.

Peter will be missed by his wife, Pauline, and his daughter Patricia Boettcher, his son Peter Jr. (partner Keri), grandsons Kyle and Jason and his son Mark (Holly), and grandchildren, Catherine, Luke, John, and Maria.

Peter is survived by his siblings Anne Sandul, Vicky Pelling, Claudia Paish and sister-in-law Julia Rawlek. He is predeceased by his son-in-law Ben Boettcher, his parents John and Helena Rawlek, his brother Albert Rawlek and his half-brother Ivan Rawlek.

Thank you to the team at South Terrace Continuing Care Centre, especially May Pineda for her extra care and attention and Dr Fairfax for the most exceptional care and attention for making Dad’s last year exceptional.

A celebration of life will be held with the immediate family.