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Alexander "Al" Roman Rybczyn
November 17, 1956 - January 30, 2014
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<div itemprop="description">RYBCZYN, Alexander Roman &ldquo;Al&rdquo;, 57 of Lower Sackville, passed away January 30th, 2014 at home on his favourite couch after a courageous battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his close friends and family throughout the best and worst of his fight. Born in 1956, in Bradford, England, he was the son of the late Wasyl and Stefania (Fedkiu) Rybczyn. He immigrated with his parents and sister, Irene, to Toronto in 1963. Growing up in Toronto, he worked several different jobs during his teenage and young adult years before joining the RC Navy in 1978 as a Marine Engineer, retiring in 1998 as a Petty Officer, 2nd Class. He continued to work as a reservist for the DND Damage Control Division until March 2011. He held a great love of music of all types, teaching himself bass guitar early in life and joining a punk rock band with some of his closest friends in the 70&rsquo;s. His interests extended into the many realms of science, especially modern physics and astronomy, and he was a bookworm in the most endearing sense of the term. He loved golfing, vegetable gardening, cooking, chess, and anything that challenged his mind. He had a great love and respect for animals, especially dogs, and did his best to live by the mantra &ldquo;Do no harm&rdquo;. Al will be sadly missed by his dog of 11 years, Badger, and the other canine cousins in the family. He is survived by his beloved wife of 27 years Fedwa &ldquo;Feddy&rdquo; (Elkateb); daughter Stephanie Rybczyn, at home; mother and father-in-law Mohamed and Theby (Rahal) Elkateb; brothers and sisters-in-law Zenko Balahura, Moneir (Rose), Celwa (Reza), Aisha (George), Houda (Mario), Suehila (James), niece Olivia, nephew Darius , nephew Gabriel. He was predeceased by his sister, Irene. Al will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and the many other lives he touched. He was thankfully able to see many of these people one last time in the recently passed months. His family would like to thank the staff at the QE II Palliative Care Unit, the V.G. Hospital and V.O.N. nurses, especially Barb Stewart and Rhonda Roche, for all of their help during these difficult times. Together, they made Al&rsquo;s battle and passing as painless for him as possible, and did everything they could to help him and his family through it. A Celebration of Life will be held Thursday, February 13, 2014 between 12pm-2pm on the Bridge at the Chief&rsquo;s and Petty Officer&rsquo;s Mess CFB Stadacona. Cremation has already taken place. In lieu of flowers, donations in Al&rsquo;s memory may be made to the QE II Palliative Care Unit, V.O.N. NS Chapter, S.P.C.A. NS Chapter, or any cancer research charity. Online condolences may be made by visiting the website www.atlanticfuneralhomes.com and selecting the Sackville Chapel.</div>