Paul Frederick Gluschenko

Gluschenko, Paul Frederick: Paul Frederick Gluschenko died on July 16, 2025 in Kelowna, B.C. Born on May 16, 1933 in Hearst, Ontario, he was 92 years old. Paul almost always had a sparkle in his bright blue eyes, a warm greeting for those he encountered and a smile on his bearded face. (He grew that beard to commemorate Canada's Centennial in 1967; it suited him to a T and he never shaved it off.) He was a hospitable, gracious man who got along well with most anyone. The firstborn, Paul had four younger sisters, Lucy, Vicky, Rosie and Linda. (The girls squabbled over who got to wear his sweaters, annoying their big brother who nevertheless learned how to keep the peace.) His dad Andrew had a good job working for the CNR and the family lived in a company house owned by the railway. Even though there was no electricity or running water, the family felt well-off relative to others in the gritty pulp and paper town of Val Rita. Paul attended a two-room schoolhouse from Grade 1 to 8. In June of 1946, his parents Andrew and Pearl took the family on a cross-Canada train trip (one of the perks of the job) to visit Pearl's family's farm in Alberta. They also visited the Okanagan Valley and fell in love with the warm, fertile lake country. Nobody wanted to return to the blackflies and deep snow of northeastern Ontario - and they didn't. Andrew went back alone to sell everything, and eventually bought a 50-acre farm in Ashton Creek near Enderby. Teenage Paul adjusted to life in B.C., where he was sometimes teased for his French Canadian accent. He first worked at a bakery, then at 18 landed a job helping to build Silver Star Provincial Park near Vernon. It was the start of his long career working with B.C. Parks. Paul always had an eye for beautiful things. So when he spotted the tall, lovely, red-haired Nancy Bennett playing in a basketball game in Enderby he was smitten. After a long courtship the pair married on October 11, 1958 and raised three lanky kids. The family moved frequently with Paul's work, which took him all over southern B.C. building parks, campgrounds and trails. When his oldest turned 6, Paul took a permanent job at Okanagan Lake Park so that the family could have a stable home base. They settled in Peachland, living first in a mobile home near beautiful Antler's Beach Regional Park, then moving into a small white house on Beach Avenue. Located right across the street from Okanagan Lake - premium swimming and boating! - it hosted many great gatherings with friends and family. Paul was active both physically and in the community. He took up downhill skiing with the family, played golf and volleyball, volunteered on various parks committees and served as a fair-minded baseball umpire. His sons remember often playing catch with their dad after dinner. He also loved to unwind in his backyard garden/orchard which produced a bounty of fruit and vegetables. After Paul retired at 55 he and Nancy travelled to Mexico, the Caribbean and South Africa. They upsized to a bigger house and garden on Beach Avenue and then downsized to a townhouse, again on Beach Avenue. Always a sociable person, Paul decided to move into Westwood Retirement Resort in West Kelowna during the pandemic. It was closer to where Nancy lived in Village at Smith Creek and when she died after a long illness on November 9, 2022, Paul took comfort from his friends at Westwood. Paul remained warm, gracious, sharp and funny, telling jokes and stories and regularly triumphing at cards, until his final days. He departed with dignity and his passing felt like the end of an era, one that leaves a huge gap in our lives. Paul is survived by his daughter Valerie Berenyi (Alex Berenyi), sons Brian Gluschenko (Judith Barnes) and Derek Gluschenko (Karen Verbeek), grandchildren Nicholas Berenyi, Natasha Sklar (Dr. Cam Sklar), Madelaine Berenyi (Jon Reynolds) and Lukas Gluschenko (Alessandra Smith), great-grandson Leo Sklar and sister Linda Gluschenko. The family will hold a celebration of Paul's life in Peachland at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 4th at the 55+ Activity Centre, 5672 Beach Avenue.