PICHERACK, Michael Paul

Michael Paul Picherack born July 15, 1946 in Kingston Ontario passed away peacefully January 12, 2021. Beloved husband of Patricia (Trish) Picherack for 25 years; he was the dear father of Claire Proteau (Paul), Tom (Sarai), Joseph, Martina King, and Bert King. He will be deeply missed by his grandchildren, Ethan, Grace, Luke, Lydia, Max, Vaughn, Emma, Barrett and Samuel. Paul was predeceased by his parents Michael Picherack (2016) and his mother Mary Genevieve Picherack (nee Kane, 1987). He is survived by his loving sisters Janet (Rick) Cornwall, Louise (Mike) Dwyer, his niece Kelly and nephews, Michael, Stephen, Sean, Patrick and their families. He will be deeply missed by Trish’s siblings and extended family. Family was of paramount importance to Paul. He cared deeply about his children and grandchildren and shared his generous heart with his large and loving family. We can imagine him contently sitting in his arm chair with a good book, surrounded by beautiful music with a faithful dog at his feet. He taught us about commitment, hard work and honour but mostly, about Star Wars. Paul deeply valued his relationships with friends. He was a man of great whit and many interests and talents. His favorite hobby was building historically accurate model sailing ships. He also enjoyed building and collecting historical miniature artillery. He was a dog lover and enjoyed walks with his many trusted and adoring companions over the years. Most would know Paul as a bibliophile; he was a voracious reader and collector of dense and unique tomes. Paul was very proud of his career that spanned forty three years as a professional engineer in the oil industry. He graduated from Queen’s University in his home town of Kingston, Ontario in 1969 with a Bachelor`s of Science in Chemical Engineering. Upon graduation, he started his career with Gulf Oil Canada, where he had a very successful twenty year career with numerous professional accomplishments. Paul made many friends and mentored young engineers during his time at Gulf. In 1992 Paul moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where he was Refinery Manager at Wascana Energy for six years. Paul took the position of Plant Manager with CS Resources in 1997, where he gained his initial experience with SAGD, a technique for removing heavy crude oil with steam. He became an early expert in the field, publishing articles in industry peer reviewed journals. When CS Resources was acquired by Pan Canadian Energy, Paul became Manager, Thermal Operations and Team Leader for debugging, operation and development of the Senlac SAGD Thermal Project, staffing and commissioning of Christina Lake. By December 2003, Paul was Manager Facilities/Engineering at MEG Energy. He played a major role in the development, commissioning and operation of the production plant at Christina Lake. At MEG Paul saw the completion of the Christina Lake plant and made many close and valued friends. In retirement Paul and Trish built a home in the wine country of Naramata BC where he enjoyed spending time with his children and grandchildren, visiting local wineries and making new friends. The family would like to thank Dr. Chris Toneff for his compassionate and expert medical care and the staff at Haven Hill Retirement Centre in Penticton for their support and care of Paul. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to SOS Children’s Village (SOSchildrensvillages.ca) or The Great Trail (thegreattrail.ca). Memorial celebrations will be held in the future when family and friends can gather.