Kalman Leslie Czotter

OBITUARY Kalman Leslie Czotter January 3, 1954 to December 8, 2016 Early in the morning on December 8th, with his wife by his side, Kal lost his 5 year battle against Multiply Myeloma. Kal was predeceased by his mother Grace Czotter in 1992 and his father Leslie Czotter in 1993. Kal leaves to mourn his dedicated, loving wife and partner of 32 years, Joan Czotter and their children Wesley Czotter, Kimberly Czotter, Ashley (Mark) Petch and new grandson Kellen who arrived on December 4th, Kal's twins: Kelly Czotter (Squamish) and Candace (Lito) Morais and 3 grandchildren Austin, Olivia and Zepplin (Ontario). His sisters Virginia (John) Pounden (Victoria) and Marlene (Eli) (Morinville), his uncles Julius (Joyce) Cotter (Surrey), Ian Sutherland (Victoria) and his aunt Phyliss Brawner (Ladysmith). Brothers-in-law Ralph Lich (Calgary) and Terry (Karen) Genest (Red Deer), sisters-in-law Rose (Fred) Benesch (Victoria) and Carole (John) Cash (Parksville), along with numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. The Family would like to thank Dr. Hart, Dr. Kolodziejczyk aka Dr. Dean, Dr. Holloway and all the incredible supportive nursing staff at both RJH and the Cancer Clinic who assisted Kal throughout his arduous journey. The family also appreciated the continued friendships and encouragement of Doug Popejoy, Brad Palin and Eric Earl that Kal received right to the end.. BIOGRAPHY On January 3rd 1954, Grace and Leslie Czotter welcomed their first child and only son, Kalman Leslie Czotter. He was named after his paternal grandfather who had died in a Nordegg mining disaster on October 31st, 1941. Kal grew up in James Bay with his parents and two sisters, Virginia and Marlene. The family had bought an old mansion located on Dallas Road, today known as Beckley Manor. While they lived there his parents converted this mansion into apartments. In the early sixties, his parents purchased property on Old West Saanich Road where the Czotter family and cousins spent weekends enjoying the freedom that this location offered. Kal's father made a zip line on the property and built a tree platform for the children to climb up on so they could take in the beautiful view. This property was sold in the late sixties when his parents purchased a waterfront cabin on the west side of Shawnigan Lake. This summer vacation spot hosted many gatherings with family and friends. The cabin was a welcomed adventure from the city life for Kal. Lasting memories were made enjoying: boating, water skiing, scuba diving, swimming, hiking, and just having fun with his many cousins. Kalman attended James Bay Elementary (where he received the Citizenship award from 1961-65), South Park Elementary, Central Middle School and then graduated from Victoria High in 1972. Kal's various interests started when he was only 6 and he learned how to play the accordion, later turning to the guitar and piano. At 13, Kal got a job as a paper boy delivering in his community and before long, he was promoted to the sub-station manager with the local newspaper. He also looked after a dozen or so pigeons, collected stamps, became a Boy Scout, played baseball and Rugby, took photography and joined various school clubs. He enjoyed diving at the breakwater and Shawnigan lake looking for old bottles to add to his ever-expanding collection. We're not sure but believe Kal's first car was a blue Metropolitan and so the story goes, he drove it by himself to the driver's testing station to actually get tested for his driver's license. His interest in the ocean and water led him to BCIT. There he enrolled in the Geomatics Engineering Technology program. After receiving his diploma in Geomatics his dream became a reality when he joined the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) on June 17th, 1974. Kal relished being part of the hydrographic surveying team - he never referred to his job as work because he was doing something he truly loved. After years on the job and his continued studies, he became "Hydrographer-in-Charge" and was responsible for data acquisitions and technical support for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. During his time at the Institute of Ocean Sciences, he engaged in: surveying, AutoCAD, GPS, GNSS, remote sensing, GIS, geomatics, ArcGis, cartography, spatial analysis, maritime, navigation and engineering. He developed and implemented hardware solutions for hydrographic acquisition and data preparation tools. His lifelong passion for learning turned into a desire to teach and he held various lectures at several universities throughout his career. Kal continued his studies and became a Canada Land Surveyor. He belonged to various associations including: the Canadian Hydrographic Association(CHA), Association of Canada Land Surveyors (ACLS), National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI), and Wilderness First Aid. He authored numerous articles and reports on various hydrographic systems while serving as a member on the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors - Offshore Committee and represented CHS-Pacific on the CHS National Technical Support Working Group, CHS Standards and Procedures Working Group. His published papers include (but are not limited to): A Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Agency, Multibeam Survey of Georgia Basin (2001), Multibeam Water Column Imaging: Improved Wreck Least-Depth Determination (2006), Shallow Water Surveying With Swath Bathymetry 3D Sidescan (May 2016), and Leveraging Near Real-Time Data Processing to Safely Increase Hydrographic Production (July 2016). In 2002, Kal received the Citation du SMA Sciences award at the ADM Science Commendation in Ottawa, and in 2003, he was presented with the Deputy Minister's Prix d' Excellence. Kal was awarded second place in a geography contest for ACLS-AATC, winning free airfare to attend their AGM in 2012. Unfortunately, he was unable to go because of his declining health. Kal attended numerous conferences in the United States and Canada throughout his career with CHS. He also had the opportunity to be part of worldwide expeditions with private companies. In 1996, Kal headed to Indonesia to work, then in 2001, he travelled to Malaysia where he taught Multi Beam Data Processing at the university. In January of 2014, Kal ventured to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a Hydrographic Surveyor. This was his last trip away for work as his declining health prevented him from working in the field. Kal retired from the CHS as the Engineering Project Supervisor on June 17th, 2016 - 42 years to the day of Service with Fisheries and Oceans. Kal's love for his family was unconditional. The twins from his first marriage, Kelly and Candace, were always in his heart even when they were not in his life. It was 1984 and Kal was on his own. He had seen Joan at a meeting then met her with her daughter, Ashley, at a Christmas event. The deal was sealed when he offered to shovel her car out after a snow storm then stayed for a delicious dinner. In January 1988, Kal planned a surprise private marriage ceremony as it was the second marriage for both him and Joan. Shortly thereafter, Kal officially adopted Ashley and became her dad. The addition of their son, Wesley, in 1989, and then their daughter, Kimberly, following in 1993, completed their family. Being a Hydrographer was like being in the Navy as it meant being away for extended periods of time. A job took Kalman away from Joan on their 26th wedding anniversary. He left behind a note with instructions and money for one daughter to purchase roses and for the other daughter to surprise her with a "romantic" dinner out with the family. Accordingly, Kal was very much a home body when he was back on land. He was a very loving and dedicated husband and father who coached Wesley's baseball, football and soccer teams and his daughters' soccer teams at GHSA. Kal's excellent coaching abilities assured his teams' success. He taught his children how to swim, ride their bikes, roller blade and he shared his hobby of photography with them. Family holidays included trips to Disneyland, Disney World, house-boating on the Shuswap and trips to Alberta and various parts of BC to visit extended family. He loved beach-combing, hiking, fishing and in recent years enjoyed taking his grand-dogs Tucker and Emmy on walks. Kal's interest in hydrography also led him to engage in Geocaching - an activity he eagerly participated in no matter where he was. Many a vacation was spent looking for the correct coordinates in anticipation to locate the next geocache. Kal also loved being the Beta Tester for any new program or piece of equipment. Figuring it out always gave him such joy of accomplishment. He was Joan's Technical advisor on the many DVD presentations they created to present at school and other tributes for family members. Kal was a "jack of all trades," completing numerous renovations in the family home. He was a perfectionist, and conducted all demolition, installation of the plumbing, the electrical, flooring, and finishing touches - no project was ever too big for him. He enjoyed passing on his renovation skills to Ashley and Mark who were his assistants in all the home projects especially during the past five years. Even while he was in the hospital recently he was planning the specifics to create a new workspace for his wife. It is obvious from this example that he was dedicated to doing whatever he could to keep his family happy and well looked after. Kal was always very health conscious and his concern for keeping his family healthy came out through a weekly medical e-mail that he sent to all his children. In November 2011, it was apparent something wasn't right. On March 12, 2012, Kal was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (MM). He received radiation to deal with the pain and underwent 5 months of weekly Chemo Therapy to prepare him for a Stem Cell Transplant. The Transplant could only be done in Vancouver so Kal and Joan moved over to the mainland for just over a month while treatment took place. The result of the Stem Cell Transplant only gave Kal a six-month break from any form of treatment. Days back from Saudi Arabia in 2014, Kal's bloodwork showed that the MM had reared its ugly head again. From this point on each new Chemo treatment lasted for awhile then fail somewhere along the way. This summer he was told there were no options left for treatment. Luckily, he was able to make a few trips on his bucket. While undergoing some oral chemo treatments Kal and Joan joined Ashley and Mark for two weeks in Playa del Carmen in Nov 2014 and then, celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary in Cuba in Jan 2015. Kal followed all new information about MM and attempted to seek treatment at various out of country clinics. In late June, a new drug for MM was approved in Canada but not in BC. Then in October of this year his oncologist was able to get approval for Kal to try this new drug. The new chemo drug needed to be administered in a private clinic and was not fully funded by his extended health program. As always, Kal was up for the challenge so he was placed in the hospital for 10 days prior to the start of this new treatment to get his blood levels up in hope that the new drug would be a success. He only had received two treatments, when he ended up back in the hospital on November 6th until the morning of December 8th, 2016. His journey was a very long, arduous road but he never gave up. He was determined no matter how difficult the situation got - his cheerleader, Joan, was with him every step of the way. Kal's last life challenge was waiting for the safe arrival of his new grandson, Kellen, who arrived on December 4th. Kalman Czotter will be remembered by all who knew him as a man with high principles who loved and cared for his family and one who didn't make promises he couldn't keep. Above all, he will be remembered as a serious, easy-going, witty individual full of: laughter and life, wisdom and logic, and passion for: technology, education, politics and the environment. "Speak of me as you have always done. Remember the good times, laughter and fun." Kalman's wonderful spirit lives on through the many memories of his family and friends.

Sea Shepherd