Terry William Kanceruk

1952-2026

Terry William Kanceruk was born on November 3, 1952 in Winnipeg as the oldest son of John and Ollie Kanceruk. Terry grew up in Transcona at the intersection of Winona and McMeans. He had two younger brothers: David and Wayne Kanceruk. He is survived by his wife Wendy and two sons: Steven and James Kanceruk. 

Terry valued finding solace within music, athletics, and knowledge. He loved to play the guitar and taught himself classics like ‘Smoke on the Water’.  As a teenager he was up on all the best music of the time: Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Frank Zappa and more. Terry knew the coolest record store in town. He would let his younger brothers use his records he bought from there if they agreed not to scratch them. Terry always liked to indulge in quality audio equipment. Even later in life, he would own an impressive collection of musical instruments and top-of-the-line audio systems.

He played football as a quarterback or receiver and taught his younger brothers Wayne, and David to throw the ball and lead the receiver. He tried to keep his younger brothers out of trouble, though at times he would contribute to that trouble himself!

He was an avid reader who would bring his books along when going on trips. From getting lost in the stories of science fiction and literature, to the technical reference of engineering literature where each page was new knowledge. It was a love he passed on to his children. One guiding principle for his life was to make sure his children were well educated. It was something he invested much time and effort in from early on. He would go on to inspire in his children a love of learning, music, and travel.

Terry went on to complete a two-year computer analyst programmer diploma at Red River College. The program was not a challenge for him, and he made the honors list each year without issue. He left his hometown of Winnipeg after completing the program. His parents John and Ollie continued to be well known mainstays of the community long afterwards.

Terry’s first job was a Programmer Analyst at Lynn Lake in Manitoba with Sherritt Gordon Mines in 1976. This was the first in a long and extensive history. This then led to further work in Fort McMurray, Alberta as a Senior Programmer Analyst at Syncrude. In 1972–1976, Terry bought a number of ¼ sections of farmland in Manitoba and Alberta with his earnings.  In 1981, Terry moved to Grande Prairie, Alberta and worked at Proctor & Gamble as a Systems Analyst for his first major corporate job. In 1984, Terry moved to Red Deer, Alberta to work at Novacor Chemicals as a Senior Systems Analyst.

He met his wife, Wendy Wilson, in Calgary, Alberta. Terry & Wendy got married June 22, 1990 in Calgary, Alberta. They had two children: Steven and James. Steven was born on Nov. 28, 1991 & James was born on August 24, 1993. Both boys were born at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary, Alberta.

While not working on his main career, he founded SportsRent in 1987 in Calgary. It was a business that provided sport equipment like skis, snowboards, and boots for those who were skiing in the nearby Alberta Rocky Mountains. The main location was in the prime area on the way to Banff, a worldwide renowned tourist attraction. He would lend skis to his friends and to his brother Wayne in Calgary. His second SportsRent store was opened in 1993. The business was later sold, and both locations are currently in business to this day!

Later, he moved up in the corporate world and began working at SAP one of the most well-known companies in business-to-business software in the world.  Over the years he consulted for the company’s various clients all over the United States and Canada. This included massive names that SAP served notably: IBM, the United States Mint and various state governments. When time allowed, he would take his family on trips to many of the places he worked at the time. This gave his family a love of travel and let them see much of the world from an early age.

Over the years, Terry would travel to the United States while working for SAP of America while keeping his family in Calgary. Eventually work required him to move with his family to the United States in Atlanta, Georgia. One deciding factor for that choice was to give his children a good public education at well ranked schools in the Atlanta suburbs that were higher ranked than many of the American alternative cities. It is another example of the importance he put on setting up his family for success. After his time at SAP he continued to consult for important names including contracts with the government in Australia, and Samsung in Seoul Korea. He retired from that around the time of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In early 2025 he was diagnosed with a grade four malignant brain tumor. This was treated over a period of many months. His wife Wendy helped take care of him at home. In the end he passed away on January 30, 2026.

Throughout all the places all over the world that Terry worked and lived in, he considered Winnipeg to be where he felt the most at home. That is why he was brought back home for his final resting place. That was his wish.

The celebration of life ceremony will be held on March 14th 2026 at 1:00p.m. at Cropo Funeral Chapel on 1800 Day St, Transcona, Winnipeg.

Livestream link: https://together.oneroomstreaming.com/2PKF3L

https://together.oneroomstreaming.com/2PKF3L