SROKA, Boleslaw (Bill)

Suddenly at home in his 81st year. Father of John Sroka of Atlanta, Georgia and Tess Wallace of Nanaimo, B.C. Grandfather of five. He is survived by a sister Hania, his brother Mieczyslaw, and niece Maria Maruniewicz, as well as other family members in Poland; predeceased by his parents Jan and Wanda Sroka and by his sister Urszula. Bill Sroka grew up near Poznan in western Poland where his father was a grain merchant. Bill left home in 1948 at the age of 17, determined to have nothing to do with the Communist regime imposed on Poland by Soviet Russia, and made his way to West Berlin and eventually to Canada. He was a graduate of Toronto’s Harbord Collegiate and University College in the University of Toronto. After coming to the Sault in the early 1960’s he made this city his home for close to 50 years, and became widely known as one of the community’s most extraordinary personalities. Bill Sroka was an adventurous spirit, willing to take risks. He travelled widely and engaged himself with the concerns and problems of each place he visited. Working for several months in one of Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying in Calcutta is only one example; the legendary valley of Vilcabamba in southern Ecuador fired his imagination and above all the land of Samoa and its people exerted a strong pull on his affections. Nor were the needs of his native Poland forgotten. He travelled back to Poznan year after year starting in 1994 to offer English language instruction free of charge. When at home in the Sault this world traveller did not simply rest but turned his attention to the local scene, and organizations such as the Soup Kitchen were the beneficiaries. Some may remember the highly successful benefit concert for the starving people of Ethiopia in March 1985 featuring noted Polish pianist Janusz Skowron which was a good example of his organizational skill and drive. Friends may call at the Arthur Funeral Home & Cremation Centre on Tuesday, December 27, 2011 from 1 pm until time of memorial service in the chapel at 3 pm. Father Jaroslaw Lazoryk officiating. If desired, donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Soup Kitchen, St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church or the charity of your choice. Expressions of sympathy may be offered at www.arthurfuneralhome.com.

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink
life to the lees: all times I have enjoyed
Greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone;… Come, my friends,
‘Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
Push off, and sitting well in order smite
The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
to sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
of all the western stars, until I die.

                                                Tennyson