Jaroslav "Jerry" Richard Panenka

Jerry Panenka was born October 14, 1934 to Maria and William Panenka, in the Ukrainian town of Berdichev. When he was four the family moved to Czechoslovakia, where he spent his childhood and early adult life.

It was a time of austerity, war, and brutal draconian communism. He lost more than half of his relatives to Stalin’s concentration camps. What family you had back then really mattered, not only because they were few, but also because in an era of terror, they were the people you could trust.

Although they had very little, he never considered himself poor. He shunned envy and self-pity. One saying he was well known for is “there will always be people with more, and there will always be even more people with less – be happy what you have.”

He was a precocious kid, a little too independent and always outdoors. He loved nature and he loved adventure. There are endless accounts of kayaking in freezing water, sleeping in tents with snakes, treading so deep into the forest that he crossed national lines that lead to his arrest as a teenager a suspected defector.

His University program choice was not a surprise, he took up geophysics so he could be outdoors all the time, and still use the physics he loved. He travelled throughout the eastern block, working mainly in Uranium mines when young. Perhaps these uranium mines is what ultimately caused him to die of brain cancer. If you would have asked him, he would have told you it was all worth it.

He met his wife Irena in cliché style. She was a young wide–eyed 22-year-old and he was her 32-year-old University professor. They wed after two years and soon started their own stories.

In the late 1960’s Czechoslovakia was progressively trying to disengage from mother Russia’s grip. He loathed the communist propaganda and ridiculed it rather frequently. No matter what the media said, he knew things were better in the West and his sense of adventure and self-confidence was going to take him there. August 1968 marked the Prague spring when the Russian tanks rolled in to take back full control of the country. In the chaos they were able to escape. Canada took them in.

So began their life in Calgary in 1970. His son William was born in 1972, Marianne in 73 and Kristina in 76.

His career as a Geophysicist flourished at Hudson’s bay oil gas, and eventually through a series of oil-patch takeovers, Aloco Oli. All along however, he kept adventuring. In Japan he climbed Mount Fuji out of season (just for a challenge) and got caught up in a snowstorm that nearly killed him. He took scuba lessons at age 68 in Thailand and did the West Coast Trail when he was 70. He ventured all through South America at 73 and then icing on the cake came in the form of a beautiful African landscape view that he witnessed at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro when he was 75, one of the oldest climber of the year. He took his health very seriously and milked that athleticism and determination right to the end.

Jerry had an open door and acceptance for everyone. His house was a refuge for all those troubled. He was a role model and a father figure to many. He was interesting and engaging, but also universally respected because he had a determined character, and an immense amount of integrity along with an ethical/moral framework that centered on truth and injustice that he didn’t just verbalize, but lived, without fail. He lived these beliefs by championing the cause of poor, the powerless and the underdog. He understood intuitively that what separates the king for the pauper was mostly luck, and therefore was an ardent defender of equality, non-discrimination, and compassion for all. He fought hard for the underprivileged and for a strong social safety net, writing newspaper articles and having a dominant voice at political rallies as the head of the Council of Canadians.

He loved his compass because it took him across the world. His moral compass, however, was what guided him.

Jerry passed away at the age of 87, at home and with his family with him. He is survived by his loving wife, Irena and his three children William, Marianne and Kristina.

Funeral Services will be held at St. Gerard’s Church, (8944 Elbow Drive SW), on Tuesday, March 1, 2022 at 11:00 a.m.