Daniel Mihalik

It is with great sadness that the family of Daniel Jeffrey Mihalik announces his peaceful passing on Tuesday, June 15, 2021 after a courageous battle with Huntington’s disease.

Dan was born on July 20, 1958 in Fort William as the final child of John and Mary Mihalik. He was the pride and joy of our family and as a result, his siblings had the honour of naming him. As a young person, he attended Ogden Street School, McKellar Park Central, and Selkirk High School. During his early years, he was a member of the Fort William Air Cadet Squadron and as a result he spent many summers in Alberta attending Air Cadet Summer Camps. Upon completion of high school, Dan attended Algonquin College in Ottawa where he received top honours in his certification diplomas for Air Conditioning/Refrigeration, Oil Burner Mechanic, and Basic Gas Heating.

Dan also served in the military reserve with the 736 Communication Squadron where he trained as a lineman. Dan did a military posting to the Communication Squadron Line Section based at CFE Baden, Germany. During this time with the 736 Communication Squadron, Dan was the Squadron Sargent Major and his secondary responsibilities were Security Officer, Range Officer, Driver Qualifier Examiner, and Line Forman. Dan was instrumental in setting up the radio towers that allowed the 736 Communication Squadron to launch the “Annual Talk to Santa” program which allows the local school children to talk with Santa in the North Pole. When Dan retired from the military service, he achieved the rank of Master Warren Officer.

One of Dan’s early careers was Assistant manager of the Intercity Radio Shack. Eventually, following in the footsteps of his older Brother, Donald, he was trained and certified as an NDE (Non-Destructive Examination) Technician. He worked in a variety of industries throughout Northwestern Ontario, Suncor Energy in Fort McMurry and the nuclear plants in Southern Ontario. As an NDE Technician, Dan inspected piping/pressure vessels, welds, reactors, furnaces, and conducted corrosion/erosion thickness surveys. Dan continued to work in this field until he was forced to take an early retirement as a result of his illness.

Dan was a lifetime member of Knox United Church until its closure, long-time member of the Royal Canadian Legion Slovak Branch 129, a member of the Brotherhood of Boilermakers and a member of the Canadian Institute for NDE.

Dan was a very private and caring person who supported his family, his friends, and anyone who needed help. Dan enjoyed spending time with his family and friends fishing and hunting at his camp on Lake Huronia.

Dan will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his sister Sharlene Smith, nephew Dr. Jonathan (Lindsay) Smith, his great nieces Isla, Sadie and Noelle; sister-in-law Hermina Mihalik (Ottawa), niece Amanda and nephew Donald; niece Stacey Mihalik and her family as well as many cousins and friends.
Dan was predeceased by his parents John and Mary Mihalik, brothers John and Donald, Sister Karen, nephew Richard Mihalik, and brother-in-law Ian Smith.

Visitation for Dan will take place at Harbourview Funeral Centre on Friday, June 25, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Please call 346-9880 to R.S.V.P. as space is limited. A graveside service will take place following the visitation at 1:30 p.m. at Riverside Cemetery with Rev. Louise Hart presiding. Due to limited capacity, please visit https://venue.streamspot.com/d4be8b2e to view the service live, or you may watch it at a later time as it will be archived on this same site.
Should family and friends so desire, donations may be made in Dan’s memory to the Canadian Huntington Society, Canadian Cancer Society/ Northern Cancer Fund, or the Heart and Stroke Foundation.