WCR board member dedicated to his parish

By GLEN ARGAN
WCR Edmonton
Edmonton

He made his entrance to the board by listing off several of the obvious weaknesses of the WCR. Two that stick in my mind were that the paper "looked dead" because we didn't have any colour pictures and that few people in Calgary get the paper.

In the three years John was on the board before his death on Feb. 21, we did get colour photos in the paper and we did try to get the paper into Calgary. Alas, you win some and you lose some.

There was never a meeting John attended where he didn't ask some pointed question. And I suspect many of my answers left him less than satisfied.

However, John was one of those rare people who are without guile. There wasn't an evil bone in his body.

At his funeral at his beloved St. Andrew Parish, Father Karol Zynel said that at Baptism we are charged to keep Christ's light burning in our hearts.

It was a fitting image for John Brezinski for he certainly did keep the light alive.

John was proud that he had been a salesman with London Life for 37 years.

And he was proud that he had been an usher at St. Andrew's for the last 40 years.

Zynel and others in the parish told of what a dedicated usher Brezinski was. He was always at the 10:30 a.m. Sunday Mass, welcoming people and helping them. Zynel said when the church was full, Brezinski would be overjoyed to see so many people attending the Eucharist.

His faith and the faith of his children and grandchildren were very important to him. And he saw the WCR as one tool for strengthening people's faith.

During Ash Wednesday Mass, John collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital. He died four days later at age 71.

It was a privilege to have known Brezinski, to have answered his questions and to have groaned at his corny jokes. He was an endearing character and he will be fondly remembered.

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