We Remember
KARGL, Peter & Ella(Wald)
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Peter, born in Vienna Austria June 22, 1923 died tragically on June 30th at KGH on the same day after suffering a fall in his dream home. He just had celebrated his 92nd birthday on June 22nd with family. He is survived by his daughter Claudia Kargl, son-in-law Jim Gray and his grandson Christian Kargl-Simard (Toronto at Raymond James Ltd.). Peter was an avid gardener and considered his beautiful home and garden his island of paradise. He loved the mountains and his home country Austria where he obtained from the Technical University in Vienna a master’s degree in physics and a professional engineer designation. Peter was sharp as a fox until the very end and had a great mathematical mind. He was so proud of his grandson Christian who earned his professional engineer status from his studies at UBC. Peter met the love of his live Ella (Wald), born November 14th 1926 in Vienna, and they got married February 16, 1952. They left war torn Austria to start a new life in Canada with only two suitcases and $200 to their name. They embarked on their new life’s journey onboard a boat of the Cunard liner that set sail from Le Havre to Quebec City and then took a train to Montreal not knowing a soul. Through saving, sacrifice and commitment they built up their fortune starting with building a home in the countryside outside Montreal amidst a wildlife sanctuary of Mt. St. Hilaire on a street named after the famous Quebec painter, Ozias Leduc. Peter, working at Northern Telecom (Nortel), and Ella devoted their lives to bringing up their daughter in the field of music and piano performance. Ella enriched her multi-arts talents in custom design, culinary arts and painting. She was an artist with many “hats” and she pursued her love for painting at Concordia University with master classes with the famous painter Armand Tatossian. Ella was a passionate impressionist artist who found inspiration in nature and in the works of Van Gogh and the Canadian Group of 7 Painters. Her bold and vibrant textured oil paintings are in homes across Canada and also in USA, Austria and Germany as well as Claudia’s open to the public Ad Lib Gallery in West Kelowna. Peter was one of the leading founders in fibre optics and was very instrumental at the Calgary Olympic. Upon retirement in Calgary from Nortel, Peter and Ella found their dream spot, where they built their house, in West Kelowna overlooking the Okanagan Valley which reminded them very much of their favorite spot Millstadt in Carinthia, Austria. Both Peter and Ella were involved with SLR and Peter made several presentations as an SLR leader. Peter was awarded as an honorary member. Peter and Ella loved each other dearly and were soul mates until the passing of Ella on May 25th 2008 at the KGH after a long hard battle with cancer. Peter devoted his passion to gardening, growing organic produce in his vegetable garden and being very much involved with Kelowna SLR. He also enjoyed contributing and being involved in the popular SLR music appreciation courses that Claudia led. Peter had a passion for Austrian history, Classical music, piano performance and political and international affairs. Peter is now reunited with his beloved Ella and they can finally find eternal peace together. A private family ceremony is planned to celebrate their new journey at their requested final resting place in the Rockies. If you wish to send a condolence, post photos or share a memory, please scroll down the page to the area called “Share Your Condolences.”
Service
A private family ceremony is planned to celebrate their new journey at their requested final resting place in the Rockies.
Claudia and Jim, I was so shocked and sorry when I read the paper this morning. Peter was such a inspiration in your
music class, and I also enjoyed his comments in Pat Zanders SLR garden class. I know you will miss him dreadfully,
but he was his own strong person and probably wouldn’t have wanted anything any different.
Claudia and Jim, I was so sorry when I read the newspaper this morning. I enjoyed Peter in your SLR music program and
in Pat Zanders garden class. What a strong character he was. You will miss him so much, but I bet he wouldn’t have
changed anything, he was such a determined man. It was wonderful to hear about his life before Kelowna.
I have many fond memories of Peter, both as a Participant in one of my Discussion Groups and as a fellow participant in his favourite topic International Politics. A sharp mind, intellectual, caring and informative. I shall miss you Peter.
I have fond memories of Peter in my Discussion Groups at SLR and also as a fellow Participant in his favourite topic – International Politics. You will be remembered.
I met Peter through the Society for Learning in Retirement (SLR) about four years ago. He was always pleasant and enjoyed what was going on around him. I thought of him as a modern Renaissance man. My condolences to his family and close friends,. Peter will be sadly missed by all who knew him.
I came to know Peter through his and my participation in the SLR Current Events class, led by the remarkable Pat Zander.
Peter’s obituary confirmed all of the personable and scholarly attributes that I had perceived.
Unfortunately, I have no photographs to share.
I will forever hold my fond memories of “Tante” Ella and “Onkel” Peter in my heart. I will miss them dearly (as I have Tante Ella for the past years), but will always delight in remembering my Tante’s flare for life and Onkel Peter’s philosophical discussions, before we finally got to the important topic of the garden. I feel very fortunate to have been able to call them Tante and Onkel and that my husband and children also got to share in their love.
Our deepest sympathies to Claudia and Jim and to Christian.
Peter was one of the most remarkable individuals I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. He will always be an inspiration to me. Peter is the reason I joined SLR, and allowed me to bring other students from UBC Okanagan. We had many excellent conversations and arguments on intergenerational matters during lectures at SLR. I will forever be grateful for his wisdom, knowledge, good humor, and appreciation for the arts. My heartfelt condolences to Peter’s family and loved ones.
It is with great sadness that we heard of Peter’s passing. His kindness to our daughters, which often was shown in his letting them swim in his pool for hours, his great conversations with my husband and with me, and his ongoing friendship to my parents will all be sorely missed. He had a lot of good advice, great stories and interesting insights, and we will miss all of that in our lives.