P. Eng. ALEXANDER ERNEST KOVACH

KOVACH, P.Eng., ALEXANDER ERNEST Passed away suddenly at home in Horseshoe Valley, Ontario on January 20, 2019 at the age of 81. Beloved husband of Danuta (Dana) nee Jazienicka of 47 years and a proud and loving father of Alexander Jr. (Alex), daughter-in-law Neha Prasad and adoring grandfather (nagyapa) of Kensington and Sawyer. He is survived by his oldest sister Elizabeth Gedo of Regina, SK, of 102 years of age, predeceased by his parents Elizabeth and Sandor Kovacs of Regina, SK, brother Leslie Kovach of New Jersey, sisters Irene Szakal of Kelowna and Helen Beaton of Ottawa. Al will be missed by his loving niece Helen Schmidt and nephew Al Gedo, both of Regina, SK, nephew Dr. Steven Kovach and his family of North Carolina, niece Shirley Kazanjian and her family of New Jersey, niece Ilona Gray and her family of Alberta, nephews Leslie and Michael Szakal and their families, all of British Colombia, great-niece Raquel Schmidt (David Payne) and great-nephew Trevor Schmidt, all of Calgary, cousin Elizabeth Howe (Earle) and her family from Illinois, cousin Dr. Geza Kovacs and his family of Germany and many relatives in Slovakia and Poland, family and friends in Canada, United States, Germany and Japan. Al was born in Regina, SK, in October, 1937 and was raised in a proud Hungarian family. A graduate of Carlton University in Civil Engineering 1964, he became a dedicated engineer whose career spanned from Du Pont of Canada, University of Western Ontario, North American Engineering Ltd., FENCO, Spantec, RPA Consultants, Steinberg and finally to Giffels where he spent over 20 years as a project manager on many major auto facilities for Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and BMW, for Imperial Tobacco and Seagrams and many other projects where he enjoyed interacting with Giffels 'family', contractors and most of all his clients. He lived and worked by two mottos: 'do it right the first time' and 'you get what you inspect, and not what you expect'. Al was passionate about life; he loved people, animals, woodworking but music was his real love. He played his violin since he was 9 years old; he played in many major orchestras starting with the Regina Youth Orchestra, Kingston Symphony, London Ontario Symphony Orchestra, Oakville Symphony and Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, where he played for over 32 years. He was happy playing in the orchestra as well as any musical gig, chamber group or his 'Anwabi Quartet'. A Celebration of Al's Life will be held on Saturday, May 4, 2019 at the Old Mill Toronto, between 12 noon and 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Al's name can be made to the Mississauga Symphony Orchestra, Oakville Humane Society and Canadian Wildlife Federation. Condolences may be forwarded to the family through www.adamsfuneralhome.ca