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Marshall Bereza

1929 to 2017


Marshall Bereza, 88, of Victoria, BC, passed away on

Friday, April 14, 2017. This energetic man, who was active every day of his life, most recently with daily walks to the ocean and gardening, was felled by pancreatic cancer.

Born in Konstantinewka, Poland, of Ukrainian descent, Marshall came to Canada with his parents in 1929.  His family homesteaded in Lac La Biche, Alberta where he was raised and educated.

After he graduated he moved to New Westminster, BC, where he met and married Anita Dery (Murray) in 1950. He became the adopted father to Anita’s two boys, Danny and Billy. The couple had one more child, Peggy, and were happily married for 63 years.

Marshall was a hard-working man. One year he filed income tax for 8 full-time jobs. While living in Whitehorse, Yukon, he was a firefighter, manager of the produce department of a grocery store, and trained both as a butcher and a goldsmith. The latter with Murdoch’s Gem Shop where he became a certified gemologist.

Marshall, Anita and his good friend, John Mahovlic started Majestic Jewellers in Kitimat and he ran the successful business for over 30 years before retiring.

During his time in Kitimat Marshall was active in many organizations including the Masons, as well as the Kiwanis and the Chamber of Commerce, both of which he was president. Marshall and Anita were very involved with the Hirsch Creek Golf Club and under the auspices of Majestic Jewellers sponsored many seasonal tournaments.

Boating on the Douglas channel was an outing undertaken as frequently as possible with a number of friends; a strong and lasting interest that he instilled in his son Danny. Marshall and Anita were extremely well travelled from Hong Kong to Egypt, Cuba, Hawaii, Mexico, Spain and Jerusalem. This particular wanderlust they passed on to their daughter Peggy.

Marshall was pre-deceased by his wife, Anita and his son Bill. He is survived by his daughter Peggy (Roy Mercer), his son Danny (Gaynor) and grandson Greg. He is also survived by his brothers, Metro, Steve and John and his sisters, Olga, Mary and Loveth.

Please join us in celebrating Marshall’s life at a gathering of friends and family from 2pm to 5pm on May 21 at the East Vancouver Ballroom, Grand Pacific Hotel, located at 463 Belleville Street, Victoria.



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