Isidore Goresky (November 11, 1902 – February 22, 1999) was a farm labourer, teacher and provincial politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. He served as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

from 1930 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers caucus in government.

Early life

Isidore Goresky was born on November 25, 1902, in Barbiwtsi, Vashkiwtsi Bukowina,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(now part of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

). His family moved to Canada in 1905 after being unable to improve their living conditions. The family settled in Stony Mountain,

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. He lived in the town until 1918 when his father Basil purchased a farm six miles to the north-west of the community. Goresky began his working life as a farm hand and went to school in various locals around Manitoba. He tried to join the Army in 1917 but was unsuccessful. He began teaching in the fall of 1918 and worked his first stint for four months. He later went to the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Brandon Brandon may refer to: Names and people *Brandon (given name), a male given name * Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins Places Australia *Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales *Brandon, Q ...

, graduating in 1922. Goresky continued to work various teaching jobs until he moved to

in 1926 to accept a job as a principal in Smoky Lake. He tried to re-enroll with the University of Manitoba to complete his master's degree but was unable to so he went to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

instead. He obtained his master's degree in 1929. He ran for political office in 1930.

Political career

Goresky ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the

1930 Alberta general election Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...

as a United Farmers candidate in the Whitford electoral district. He defeated two other candidates by taking 70 percent of the district vote, a landslide margin of victory to hold the seat for his party. He was one of the first Ukrainians to serve in thee Alberta Legislature. Goresky ran for a second term in the

1935 Alberta general election The 1935 Alberta general election was held on August 22, 1935, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The newly founded Social Credit Party of Alberta won a sweeping victory, unseating the 14-year government of the United Farmer ...

. He was defeated by Social Credit candidate

William Tomyn William Tomyn (October 4, 1905 – October 5, 1972) was a politician and teacher from Alberta, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1952 and again from 1959 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit Party. Early ...

finishing a distant third out of fourth place ahead of former MLA

Andrew Shandro Andrew Shandro (born May 20, 1971) is a professional mountain biker. Shandro has starred in many films and featured in mountain bike magazines worldwide. The majority of Shandro's pictures are taken by his close friend Sterling Lorence. Andrew was ...

Late life

After his defeat from office Goresky moved to

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. He worked as a rector for the Ukrainian M. Hrushewsky Institute for a year and then got hired on as a teacher for the Edmonton Public Board of Education, after that he worked as a school superintendent in the town of Consort,

. He began working on his Master's of Education in 1936 completing it in 1938. Goresky joined the

Royal Canadian Airforce The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...

in 1942. He was discharged from the service after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945. After the war he continued to work various education posts until 1966. Goresky spent the late 1960s and 1970s researching early Ukrainian immigration to Canada, translating and publishing various records. He also translated and published two books ''History of Ukrainian Settlement in Canada'' and ''Ukrainian Pioneers of Alberta''. Goresky moved to White Rock,

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, in 1986. He died on February 22, 1999, in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. He was the last living member of the United Farmers government. His funeral service was held on March 1, 1999, at the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. Mary’s in Surrey, British Columbia.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goresky, Isidore 1902 births 1999 deaths United Farmers of Alberta MLAs University of Alberta alumni Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II Ukrainian emigrants to Canada Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to Canada Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians People from Chernivtsi Oblast People from the Duchy of Bukovina