Mickey Marko

1935 - 2021

It is with great sadness that the family of Irvin Milton Marko announces his passing. He passed away in his sleep and comfortably at home in Taber on Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at the age of 86 years.

The funeral service was held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Taber Stake Centre on Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. Burial followed at the Taber Memorial Garden.

Mickey is survived by his wife Karen; his children Brad, Dave, Daniel, Cheryl, Jacob, Michael and Ruth as well as his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is also survived by his siblings Harvey, Patricia, Guy, Rick and David.

Mickey was born in Saskatchewan where he learned to be a farmer while helping his mother when his father was in World War II. He was five when his father went off to the war. When Mickey was nine, he decided that if Canada ever went to war again, he would volunteer. Mickey was fifteen when the Canadian government asked for volunteers to fight in Korea. Although he was not old enough, he changed his birth certificate and signed up. He was trained Special Force for nine months before he was shipped overseas. Mickey was sixteen when he shipped out and seventeen when he returned home about fourteen months later. His experiences affected him for the rest of his life. Mickey was a big, little man with a big smile. He had always wanted to be an accountant so when he completed his required three years in the army, he set about putting himself through school. Mickey loved numbers and crib was his card game of choice. He won a plaque in a crib championship for getting the perfect hand. Mickey was brought up to be a hard worker and was throughout his life. He brought his children up to have the same good work commitment. Mickey was very proud of all his children.

When Mickey was in his seventies, he was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He loved scripture study each day and especially loved The Book of Mormon. As he grew in knowledge and understanding of eternal life, he wished he could share what he knew with his family. His brother Cyrus was asking questions before Cyrus passed, that Mickey could not answer and now he plans to share with Cyrus what he knows. He had complete faith that he will be with his family forever.

Mickey lived a busy life including running in an election while living in Calgary. He was always involved in the communities that he lived in. Mickey enjoyed reading, golf, breeding dogs and fish. He traveled extensively and loved to learn new things. He never realized how smart he was and always called himself “a dumb old farm boy”. Far from dumb, Mickey excelled in anything to do with numbers or science. He was happy go lucky and loved to flirt with the ladies. His smile and jokes will be missed. He will be greatly missed by family, friends and all who knew him.