Date of Birth: September 24, 1935
Date of Death: July 11, 2024
With profound sadness, we announce the passing of Ed in Courtenay, B.C. at the North Island Hospital from heart failure. He fought incredibly hard and was such an inspiration to life. The nurses and doctors all commented, “strong like ox.”
He will be deeply missed by his oldest son Dow Famulak of West Palm Beach, Florida (Angelique) and their two children, Hannah and Max; daughter Daun Famulak of Vancouver, BC (Barb) and their two children, Simone and Evelyn; son Drew Famulak of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Cheryl) and their two children, Ian and Emma; son Derek Famulak of Vancouver, B.C.; life-long best friends, Donny Vassos of West Vancouver (Deborah), Ed Collins of West Vancouver (Barb) and Merle Walters of Abbotsford, B.C. There are numerous close relatives with special mention to Ian Perrin of Madison, Wisconsin (Lisa) and niece Melanie Famulak of Cochrane, AB. Ian was like a son to Ed and lived with our family while playing hockey for the Melville Millionaires. Niece Melanie was like another daughter.
Ed is predeceased by his father and mother, Peter and Anne Famulak of Melville, SK; wife of 42 years, Sonja Famulak; brothers Andy and Merve Famulak; and sister Mary St. Michel. His older sister Florence Hook still lives in Regina, Sask. and had a very strong bond to “Eddie” as all the siblings did.
Ed was born in Melville, SK and was married to Sonja (Dickins) in 1959. He had a decorated sports life mainly in hockey and golf. Ed always wanted to be a lawyer, but when Sonja became pregnant with the twins after Dow and Daun, Ed did what he did all of his life, he put his family first and stayed in Melville where he and Sonja raised their four kids. Ed worked on the CN in Melville as a conductor for over 30 years. When he retired in 1991, he and Sonja moved to BC for retirement. Although Ed and Sonja separated in 2001, they remained committed to always working together in supporting their children until Sonja’s untimely death in 2010.
Ed played junior hockey with the Prince Albert Mintos as defense from 1953-1956 which was the farm team of the New York Rangers. Ed was invited to the Rangers camp in 1956 and played a few games with them. He then chose to play in Europe for the Edinburgh Royals in the British National League from 1958-1959, the Yorkton Millers in 1960 and ended his hockey career with the famous Trail Smoke Eaters in 1960-1961. He went on to coach his son in Melville Minor Hockey for years and in 1973-1974 was the head coach of the Melville Millionaires. Ed was also heavily involved in the Melville Golf and Country Club and to this day still holds the course record of 30 on the front nine. He was involved in designing the back nine when it re-opened in 1984. Ed taught all of his family how to golf. That was quite a feat. A coach he was to the core.
Ed’s pride and joy were definitely his family. He was immensely proud of his four kids and his six grandchildren. He was a humble man and an inspiration and “influencer” in all of his kid’s lives. He will be forever missed.
Special thanks to Dr. McCallum and the staff at the North Island Hospital who took such amazing care of Ed. He always commented on it. Also special thanks to Liam and Cindy, Ed’s best friends in Courtenay. They described Ed as the most “kind and compassionate” person they knew.
A memorial service will be held at a later date with location to be announced. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Melville Minor Hockey Association or a donation of your choice.
