Calvin Michael Haczkewicz was born December 11th 1959, to Maureen and August at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg Manitoba. Ten and a half months later he gained twin sisters, Anita and Andrea. At the age of three he received his third sister Laurie and the final family member, Lisa, arrived when he was ten. Blessed with four sisters to help out with Calvin thrived.

During his first 15 yrs he lived in Manitoba’s Thicket Portage, Gillam, Lynn Lake, Chisel Lake and Snow Lake, moving around with the railroad that his father worked for.

During his youth he was a member of cub scouts, then went on to join Sea Cadets.  Growing up in the bush there was not a lot to entertain himself with, so he learned to use his vivid imagination. He had a dog in Snow Lake named Patches that he loved to chase coyotes with, carrying only a stick (brave lad).

Calvin’s love of hockey began at the age of five when he played in Lynn Lake. His love of fishing also at an early age, being the only boy, his father would take him on father-son fishing trips. Calvin later became a guide with American tourists. He has always loved the outdoors.  

Calvin’s poker hobby began when he was eleven when he would sneak down to the mines and play poker with the men. That was a pastime he never gave up.

Calvin also had responsibilities at a young age. His chores included helping with his sisters, emptying tubs after baths (by hand), burning garbage (hence his love of big fires), and lucky Calvin once he was old enough he got to clean the chemical toilet. These chores earned him an allowance which he would spend on Archie comic books.  

Calvin was ever the entrepreneur. While his sisters were squandering their allowance on candy, he was stock piling his comic books for family vacations. He would then rent them to the girls (it was a long drive to Redditt). Calvin would also make quick cash by selling garnet and pyrite which he and the girls would go looking for in the rocks behind their house. 

At the age of 15 Calvin arrived in Edmonton and became a bit of a rebel. His grades began to decline and his popularity increased, especially with the fairer sex.  

At 16, Calvin met Eddie Fox, who was trying to get a date with one of Calvin’s twin sisters (he didn’t care which one). They became best friends, and remained that way all of Calvin’s life. They spent several years working and partying (and partying, and partying). They were even roommates for a brief stint and mutually decided if their friendship was to continue one of them had to move. Calvin did. All of the good times led to Calvin becoming something of a scrapper, getting into numerous fights, generally being chivalrous, defending some woman in distress.  He wasn’t always the winner but he always managed to make it home.

During the partying years, Calvin held jobs at CN as a switchman, at Lilydale on the floor, a waiter at the Coliseum Restaurant and Macdonald hotel, and then back to Lilydale as an eviscerating manager.  

After several years (almost a decade) of living the party life, he had a brush with the law and decided it was time to tone it down. 

In 1985 he began his financial career as a stock broker. From there he went to Tilcan in 1986. Trying to build his clientele base and making ends meet was tough, he had to supplement his income at times by going out of town on the rigs for a week long gig. And then he found his home with Pewter Financial in the spring of 1988. 

In 1988 he married the mother of his children, who blessed him with Andrew in 1989 and Angella in 1992. 18 months later, he was a single father, trying to solidify his future in the financial business.   

His financial career became stable and flourished at Pewter Financial. Keith & Debra Odegard (Pewter Financial LTD) taught and mentored Calvin through the pitfalls of those early years, helping him excel & grow in the industry.  His career flourished and became stable enough that he took his sister Laurie on as an assistant in 1993.  They worked closely together for 14 years when she left to move to BC in mid 2007.  

Also in 1993 Calvin decided to become 100% sober and joined NA and adopted the 12 step program. He had given up alcohol several years previous but still liked to smoke on occasion. He decided that raising children clean and sober would be more beneficial to his family. He celebrated that Christmas with his father and sister Andrea all sober together. He lived the remainder of his life according to the principles and steps of the NA program.

Through all of the years of building his business he still managed to make every hockey, in-line and ringette game that his children played, paying for camps and training so that they could compete. Spending summers at Fawcett lake with children, nieces, nephews and sisters. Teaching them to fish and quad. They took trips out to Redditt, Ontario to be with his aunts and grandmother in the cabin that his Grandfather built.

In 2002 he met the love of his life Tammie in Calgary, AB. He managed to convince her to move up to Edmonton in 2004 when he proposed at her 40th birthday, and married her in 2005. They managed to amalgamate their families into a solid unit.  Calvin became a father figure that William and Patrick had been missing all their lives, and Tammie became the evil step-mom. The family thrived even though there were differences of opinions on child rearing.

In 2007 Tammie joined Calvin’s financial business and became his office manager.  They moved the business home in 2008 and flourished as a team. Working towards a future and sharing all aspects of their life.  

Once Calvin moved the office home, the property became one of his priorities. It had to look good. He redid the yard, making it aesthetically pleasing. Planting trees and making rock gardens with strategically placed plants. His mother Maureen came every spring to give the planters on the front stoop life, (saving Calvin the hassle of shopping and ending up with clashing colors). 

Calvin loved spending time with Tammie’s family, in Calgary, Devon, Edmonton, and Riviere Qui Barre. Joining them for family reunions, birthday partys, anniversaries and Christmases. Together the family enjoyed fishing, camping and travelling. Calvin loved going to Arizona to shut down his mother in law Colleen’s home.

In recent years he loved spending time on his yard, going to the lake, getting together with some of his poker friends to watch the fights or attend boxing matches, having the kids over to enjoy hockey games and puttering in his garage. He always had time for friends and family and enjoyed being around both.

Mexico was his favorite destination for holidays and he managed to see a lot of it since their yearly excursions starting in 2008. On holidays Calvin made friends quickly. Whether he was around the pool, going snorkeling, on a fishing excursion or playing beach volleyball he was forever exchanging phone numbers and emails with new people and following up about contacting them and making arrangements to vacation same time and place in following years, which he did.

Calvin was an icon around the neighborhood community. He established many great friendships with his neighbors, always ready to lend a hand or just stop and talk and talk and talk. Calvin always made time even if it made him late.  Some of his closest were Justin and Rinu. He spent many enjoyable hours talking over the fence that they had built together or talking as they watered the grass and did yardwork. In the winter months it seemed a competition between Calvin, Justin, Ray, and Don as to who could get out the snow blowers the fastest and clear all the walks. A few years back one of Calvin’s closest friends and neighbors, Randy with his wife Jane and their children Andrew and Amanda moved away. Calvin was very sad, he missed them dearly. He still managed to retain that special relationship by getting together to watch fights, share New years’ eve’s, or having Randy come by to fix his computer or projector TV(any excuse to get together with his bud). Justin and Don were always willing to look after his yard and flowers or clear the walks if Calvin was away and he always reciprocated. The Offermans (Theresa and Charlie) have always been in the neighborhood and always in Calvin’s life since he bought the house in 1998. Thier children are like siblings to Calvin’s and you always knew if your kids were missing they were at one house or the other.  So many more, too many to mention. Know that Calvin cherished you all.

As to his Fawcett Lake family we could write a novel. Calvin has been going to Fawcett Lake for 42 years. Originally with his mother and father, then when he was old enough he shared a lot with his sisters. Eventually the sisters stopped going out to the lake and Calvin covered the expense on his own, building and buying everything needed to really enjoy the summers. In recent years his mother, sister Andrea, niece Kristin and her husband Adam, along with their children Serenity and Emmett have started to come back out. Calvin was thrilled to share what he had built with them. Calvin and Tammie’s children and grandchildren love the lake life and try to make it up whenever time permits.

As to Calvin’s many friends there we’ll mention a few very important ones.  Jim Sivers is one of Calvin’s closest friends both in town and at the lake.  They spend many hours trash talking each other around the fire, and usually stop by each other’s sites several times a day to throw quips back and forth. Dawn &Gary are recent additions to the Fawcett family but long-time friends to Calvin and Tammie. They decided it was worth the drive from Calgary just to spend more time in Calvin’s entertaining company. Brett & Crystal were neighbours for yrs and still kept in touch from their new home on the island. Kevin and Dana are new this year and struck up immediate comradery with Calvin, sharing conversation on a myriad of topics. Jim & Sherry, Cliff and his son Brad, Tammy & Grant, Darryl, Keith & Viv, Peter & Teresa, regularly invited Calvin onto their sites or came to visit at his. These are only a few of the special friendships over the years and Calvin enjoyed every one of them.

Through the years Calvin suffered a number of family losses. Starting with his maternal grandfather Thomas Simpson, when he was 15. This left a big void in his life as it was from grampa that Calvin got his handyman skills. Calvin would follow him around the cabin at Redditt, “helping” grampa fix anything and everything that needed fixing and even some that didn’t.

In 1977 his sister Andrea lost her 1st born boy, Baby Robbie after only having him for six and a half months. Calvin tried to step up and give comfort for the devastating loss.

In 1988 he lost his Sister Anita, (Andrea’s twin), to suspicious circumstances.  Calvin again lent his strength and support to the family. 

He then lost his niece Robin (Andrea’s 4th child) in 2002, she was only 15 and had spent a lot of time with uncle Calvin in his home and at the lake. Growing with his children, it was the first true loss they had suffered and Calvin did his best to get Andrew and Angella through. Also lending support to the rest of the grieving family.

June 4th 2007 saw the loss of August Haczkewicz the patriarch of the Haczkewicz clan, when Gus’s 2 year battle with cancer came to an end. Calvin now had some very big shoes to try to fill as Gus, since his sobriety, had led the family with love, kindness, patience and understanding. Giving advice where asked for and withholding judgement.

In 2012 he lost his maternal grandmother, Marcella Simpson, at the age of 98, age a big part of his history.  All of his trips to Reddit in his formative years, and then the yearly visits with his children for holidays.  She was always Calvins biggest supporter no matter what trouble he got into she would always say “Calvin is such a good boy”.

Through all his losses Calvin remained strong and true.  Giving comfort and strength to everyone.  Even when he was suffering he stood tall so that others had a pillar to gather around and lean on in times of crisis.

On June 25th 2021 Calvin passed away peacefully with his loving family surrounding him.  

Calvin is survived by his beloved mother Maureen, Loving wife Tammie and Children William (Ashley), Patrick, Andrew (Ocean) and Angella. cherished grandchildren Kristian and James, Mother in Law Colleen, his doting aunts Karen,  Myrna, Geri (Billy) Adoring sisters Andrea, Laurie and Lisa (Randy) Grieving brothers and sister in-laws Hugh, Bill (Bridget) Colleen (Bob), Nieces and Nephews Sharie, Aaron, Sterling, Michael, Trevor, Nicole (Joe), Kristen (Adam), Seranda, Dharma, Reid, Bo, Garth, Keiran and Great Nieces and nephews Noah, Jayden, Deakyn, Kaylin,Tucker, Scarlett, Roman, Serenity, and Emmett. Cousins Bernie, Chris (Janie)  Meghan and Sue. 

Calvin’s sense of humour and his ability to make people laugh and enjoy life is a blessing we will all remember and continue to enjoy.  His story telling and written poems are second to none.  At any gathering you just had to look for the biggest, happiest group and you would find Calvin in the middle entertaining everyone.  People flocked to be in his presence.

Everywhere he travelled, everyone he touched was enamored with his ability to make them feel special.  That was Calvin’s gift.  Everyone was special to Calvin, and Calvin was special to everyone.