July 2008 Issue
Obituary
Dr. Charles William Labatiuk, P.Eng.
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A world traveller, Association member and past APEGGA Gold Medal winner died earlier this year in an accident during one of his many trips abroad. Charles William Labatiuk, P.Eng., drowned Feb. 9 while swimming at Twilight Cove, near Esperance on the southwestern coast of Australia.
The City of Edmonton senior environmental engineer was 51.
Conditions were apparently severe when the drowning occurred. An authority told an Australian newspaper: “There was a strong onshore wind and the water was very choppy, with a large rip in front of the surf club and another on the side of the headland.”
Family members said the visit to Australia was Dr. Labatiuk’s 77th major trip. He kept a tack-covered map at his Sherwood Park home, marking everywhere he’d been.
Among his past destinations were Nepal, China, Peru and Galapagos Islands. He’d climbed many peaks in the Rockies, as well as Kilimanjaro in Africa.
“Charles will be remembered as an avid nature conservationist, mountaineer and world traveller who enjoyed visiting exotic locales and experiencing different cultures,” said a newsletter of the city’s waste management branch, where he was a manager and supervisor.
“Charles was extremely knowledgeable and well respected by his many friends and colleagues,” the newsletter quotes the branch manager as saying. “His friendly manner and outstanding contributions to the branch will be greatly missed.”
When it came to the higher academic, artistic and outdoor callings, there wasn’t much Dr. Labatiuk didn’t do. “Charles was a scholar, a mountaineer, a nature conservationist, a photographer, an avid reader, a gardener, a pianist, a world traveler, a student of world cultures,” said the official obituary in the Edmonton Journal. He even wrote poetry to accompany some of his photos, and often won photography prizes.
He held a bachelor of science degree from the University of Alberta and a master of applied science degree from the University of Ottawa, both of them in civil engineering. He received the APEGGA Gold Medal and a Birks Gold Medal for the highest academic standing in civil engineering — and all engineering — at U of A in 1977.
As a young engineer, he spent 10 months touring Africa before going back to university. The experience piqued his interest in Third World issues, including water management.
In 1992 he completed his PhD in environmental engineering at U of A. The author or coauthor of many technical papers, his publication credits include Water Research, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, and Ozone: Science & Engineering.
For his PhD thesis, Dr. Labatiuk won the 1995 Jean Hallopeau Prize of the European-African Group of the International Ozone Association.
Dr. Labatiuk was a member of the Alpine Club of Canada, the Grant MacEwan Mountain Club, the Calgary Mountain Club, and the Canadian Hostelling Association. An online posting to members of the Edmonton section of the Alpine Club called Dr. Labatiuk “a keen outdoorsman” and “a brilliant guy.”
The posting, from a Calgary member of the club, said that “another neat thing” was Dr. Labatiuk’s pride in his Ukrainian-Albertan roots — “including the inevitable sausages.”
Dr. Labatiuk was a graduate of two U of A Faculty of Extension programs, and was due to graduate from another this spring. He’d completed his final course in the Occupational Health and Safety Certificate Program. The faculty awarded the certificate posthumously.
Dr. Labatiuk is survived by his parents, Bill and Natalia Labatiuk; two sisters, Patricia and Lorraine; a brother, David; nieces, a nephew, and many other relatives and friends.