Baba & Geedo

Nickolas Luchak (“Geedo”) was born March 1, 1892 (registered as March 1 in the Julian calendar; used March 14, 1892 in the Gregorian calendar as his official birth date). He was born in Chernovitz, Bukovina, Austria. He and his family immigrated to Canada in 1902.

Mary Kusek (“Baba”) was born on April 13, 1898 in Ispas, Bukovina, Austria and came to Canada as a young child with her family.

On February 1, 1912, Mary Kusek (age 13) married Nickolas Luchak (age 19) at the Greek Orthodox Shandro Church in Hamlin, Alberta. Together they operated a small farm across the road from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation on the White Fish Lake Indian Reserve. Four daughters and four sons were born to their family.

In the late 1920’s when an enconomic depression and serious drought negatively impacted farming on the prairies, Nickolas went to Vancouver, British Columbia in search of work. Within a few months, Mary and the children joined him in Vancouver–a place the Luchak family called “home” for the rest of their lives.

The home they created in Vancouver is a place of many fond memories–a welcoming hug, generous hospitality, and beautiful food. The kitchen was the largest room in the house with a wood-burning stove and cupboards filled with preserved fruits and vegetables; low benches around a long table filled with cousins, aunts, and uncles; and the smell of Baba’s cabbage rolls and perogies covered with butter and sauteed onions.

Nickolas died on February 25, 1989 at age 96 and is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Burnaby, British Columbia. Mary died later that same year on November 25, 1989 at age 91 and is also buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Burnaby, British Columbia.