April 12, 1926 - June 21, 2018
Anton was born in Ozeljian, Yugoslavia (now Slovenia) on April 12, 1926. Conscripted into the Italian army in 1942 at the age of 16. After Italy capitulated in 1943, Dad went home and joined the Yugoslav partisans. The war ended and he crossed over into the free zone of Trieste in 1947. Sick of war and afraid of the post-war tensions brewing in the area, he decided to emigrate to find peace.
He came to Canada in 1951 and landed at Pier 21 in Halifax. He traveled to the main refugee gathering area in Ajax, Ontario and was hired on to work the mines of northern Ontario and Quebec. After a few years, Dad went west and found work in his trade as a stone mason and bricklayer in Jasper, Alberta. He met a bunch of fellow Yugoslav immigrants in Edmonton. They were going up to Dawson to work for the Yukon Consolidated Gold Corporation - the dredges - for the summer. Like many other people, he came up for a few summers to do that, and then he stayed in the Yukon.
Once settled, he sent for my mother from Europe, and they were married at Bear Creek on a 50 below day in February 1958. Once YCGC shut down, the family moved to Dawson. Dad worked briefly for the Town and YTG Highways before going out mining on his own. He spent decades mining around Hunter Creek and at his son's claims at Clear Creek. Mom and Dad moved to Whitehorse in 1993. Dad finally stopped mining in 2016 at the age of 90 because Mom was sick. After a short illness, Dad died of colon cancer on June 21, 2018 at the age of 92.
Predeceased by his wife Victoria in 2017, his son Vincent in 2011, and all his siblings. Survived by many nieces and nephews and their families in Slovenia, and a daughter and son in Whitehorse. A private funeral was held in Whitehorse.
Anton is loved and missed by many.
Thank you Dr. Syed and the staff at the River Valley Medical for their many years of looking after dad's health care needs. Thanks also to Clemford and Teresa from Home Care, and the doctors and nurses at WGH, particularly Dr. Kanachowski, who cared for Dad in the last months of his life.