Obituary of Kenneth Arnold Titchkosky

1942 – Morden, Manitoba

2024 – Calgary, Alberta

Today, we celebrate the life of Kenneth Arnold Titchkosky, who sadly left this world on Saturday, September 21, 2024. He was born in 1942 and was 82 years young.

Ken grew up in a poor farming family near Morden, Manitoba. His ambition and resourcefulness proved useful as he supported himself through university. He later graduated with an Honours Bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba (1964) and a master’s degree at the University of Toronto (1965) and then moved to Calgary, AB, to start his career in oil and gas exploration.

As a geophysicist for a handful of companies, Ken worked in many countries including France, Russia, Malta, Colombia, and Libya. He was a master linguist, and his work assignments provided him an opportunity to become fluent in French as well as pursue German, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. Beyond his gift with languages, his genuine interest in conversing with people helped him fit right in wherever he travelled.

Ken was a remarkably accomplished man and a published author. His book titled Seismic Deconvolution (1967) was widely regarded as the gold standard learning resource for future geophysicists. His book Better Blackjack for Business or Pleasure (1980) was co-written with his blackjack partner. Ken, never one to miss an opportunity, used the fridge-sized supercomputer in his workplace at the time to help him calculate the odds of the game. From then on, he would coach anyone interested in cards as to the odds for whether or not to hit a soft seventeen against a dealer’s ten. In oil, cards and life, he sought to find what he called the “sweet spot” through his strong mathematical reasoning.

Ken’s friendly and outgoing nature made him a natural charmer, and he was always willing to converse with strangers. He once convinced a gentleman he had just met on his train ride home to join his billiards team and play that night. His positive attitude was nurtured by the teachings of his favourite motivational speaker, Zig Zigler. The Zigler tapes playing on repeat during family summer road trips undoubtedly led to his children adopting a similar mindset.

Some of his favourite times were close to home. He relished time with his wife, two sons, two daughters and five grandchildren. He was proud of all his children and never pushed them into any specific careers. He only wished to see them happy and content. Ken had a great laugh and talked about everything with his family. One of his sons would joke that he had worked for the CIA since he had travelled the world and knew many languages. Ken would only say "Yah" and then chuckle. “Always leave them guessing” was one of Ken's favourite sayings. Ken was truly an enigma wrapped in a puzzle.

Ken would smile and tell stories about the joys of growing up on the farm, such as how, while milking a cow, he would squirt milk directly into the farm cats’ mouths. He would also reminisce about the hard times he had while attending university. He told of how a 10 lb bag of oatmeal was the only thing he could afford to eat and how he would stretch it out for as long as humanly possible. Still, he would always smile while remembering those years. He was proud of his resourcefulness and so were the people who loved him.

Sorely missed by the vast number of people who knew and loved him, Ken will stay in our hearts forever and ever. He was a wonderful blessing to those of us who knew him, and we are thankful that he has found his “sweet spot” and is now at peace.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Kenneth’s family here.

In living memory of Kenneth Titchkosky, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Park Memorial, 5008 Elbow Drive SW, Calgary, AB T2S 2L5, Telephone: 403-243-8200.