Obituary of Mike Hort

Mr. Mike Hort walked into the arms of Jesus on Tuesday, October 25, 2022.

Those waiting for him in heaven are his father John; mother Lucy; father-in-law Milton; mother-in-law Dora; brother Dan; sister Irene; brothers-in-law Al, Murray D., Mike, Ron, Murray H., Alex, Ken and David; and sister in law Irene.

Mike worked all his life. As a child in the 1940s, chopping wood, picking Seneca root and berries and digging potatoes were second nature. He became skilled at cobbling, tack repair, and sewing under the strict watchful eye of his shoemaker father. Mike used and never lost his artistic gifts from his mother.

As a young man of the mid 1950s his fortunes set him on the carpentry apprentice path earning 7 cents per hour, equivalent to 86 cents per hour today.

He met his life partner and eventually enrolled his daughter in dance, at the Ukrainian National Auditorium thereby starting decades of volunteering and great fellowship. Mike was quietly pleased and thankful for his lifetime membership certificate.

Mike was part of the crews for the long gone Mccallum Hill Building on Scarth street, one of the double shift sites, Highland Park School, then on the edge of town at 5^th Avenue North and McIntyre, and the then stylish round gym of Connaught School on Elphinstone.

He worked on Grey Nuns - Pasqua Hospital, YMCA, another round gym at Thomson School on Victoria Avenue and Sacred Heart School.

Alone or with a few, he completed countless additions; garages, cottages and many one of a kind, his kind, of designed decks.

Dr. Morris Shumiatcher and wife Jacqui had a picture of a patio from their European travels. Mike replicated it so exactly, that they asked him to do another project in their wine cellar. Unfortunately, Mike didn't care for wine at the time.

Mike co-owned a construction business and preferred to be the background, “get it done”, type of partner.

Mike's talents and patience were put to work in his time at the RCMP depot, initially for one museum refurbishing, and subsequently managing facilities.

Surprisingly, Mike had a bit of time to play baseball, square dance, bowl, play broomball, pitch horseshoes, tool leather, carve wooden statues, wood burn pictures and plaques, sketch landscapes and animals, play the harmonica and spoons, climb flag poles and tv towers, play pool, and ride any horse that would let him. Yet he wished and tried to play the violin.

Mike worked hard and played hard. In his spare time, he constantly modified his home, yearly exterior painting, cupboard redesign, digging the basement by hand and bucket and creating his basement mural of horses of course.

Mike could not have been busier in retirement. He pitched in as a structural modifier, landscape architect, designer, consultant, mover, and live freight hauler.

If Mike couldn't fix it, he'd say, “can't be done”.

Some of Mike's talents were his alone. He would often remark that he could evaluate the quality of a job by the sound of the hammering. Mike’s most cutting insult would be, “the guy can't even swing a hammer”. He also had the ability to eye up any job, construction, window or door installation, foundation integrity, and tell exactly how many degrees off were in error. That cutting jab would be, “well if it's good enough for you…” We all learned not to disagree, as he would illustrate his point and ironically, he would be right. He was a generous and excellent teacher providing you absorbed quickly and “didn't give him any lip”.

His artistry and perfectionism were evident in all he did.

Mike’s wife and his daughter are fortunate and eternally grateful that he worked those double shifts and two to three jobs at a time to provide educational opportunities for them and a comfortable secure life.

Sadly, Mike's strong work ethic and lack of safety protocol back in the day contributed to his passing.

Those who miss him terribly now and will see him later are his wife Lillian; daughter Valerie; son-in-law Brian; sisters Jean, May and Elsie; brother Jake; siblings-in-law Judy, Evelyn, Ken and Connie; as well as  numerous nieces and nephews, all with us in spirit and in attendance.

Mike has left a hole in our hearts and in our lives that only he could mend.

Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 4^th Avenue North, Regina, SK S4R 0T5. Interment to follow at Riverside Memorial Park, 815 Assiniboine Avenue East, Regina, SK S4V 1A6.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ukrainian National Federation, Regina Branch, c/o 338 Rodenbush Drive, Regina, SK S4R 6Y9 or e-transfer at reginaunf@gmail.com, or a charity of your choice.