Terry William Kanceruk

1952-2026

Terry William Kanceruk was born in 1952 in Winnipeg to 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 learning. He loved to play the guitar and taught himself classics like ‘Smoke on the Water.  As a teenager Terry was up on all the best music of the time: Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and Frank Zappa. 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 a top-notch audio system wherever he lived.

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 often contribute to that trouble himself!

He was an avid reader who would bring his books along, even 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 inspire in his children a love of learning, music, and travel.

He left his hometown of Winnipeg after completing a two-year degree at Red River College. 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 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 contracts he founded SportsRent in 1987 in Calgary. It provided sport equipment like skis, snowboards, and boots for those who skiing in the nearby Alberta Rocky Mountains. He would lend skis to his brother Wayne and to his friends in Calgary. His second sports rent store was opened in 1993. The business was later sold, but the main location is 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, this work got to the point where it required him to move his family close to a U.S. office hub and a larger airport. He then relocated his family down to the United States in Atlanta, Georgia. One deciding factor for that choice is that he wanted his children to have a good public education at well ranked schools in the Atlanta suburbs. They were higher ranked than many of the American alternatives. After his time at SAP he continued to consult for important names including contracts in AUE, Australia, and 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 glioblastoma. This was treated over a period of many months, but 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.