About Park Memorial

"Park Memorial Funeral Home provides the best service that I can ask for on such a terrible day of losing my grandma and under the strict social restriction due to Covid19. I would like to give my gratitude to Gilla and Jacky Leung for their understanding, professional and helpfulness to my family in this tough time. Gilla and Jacky were easy to connect and always respond to our questions in a timely manner. Gilla and Jacky went out of their way to help my family arranging my grandma's funeral service which made things a lot easier for us during this tough time. Thank you Park Memorial Funeral Home and all the staff for helping us."

Ann Pham

"Back in May 2020 we lost my wife/a mother/sister and a friend to many. We had no idea where to go with respect to funeral arrangements but are so happy we picked Park Memorial. Alexandra from Park Memorial was a kind, considerate and caring person that made the process so much easier. She answered our questions in an extremely timely manner and made us feel like we were the only clients she had. 17 months after the funeral we reached out to Alexandra to help us get some programs printed for the Celebration of Life. She helped us immediately with no questions. I hope we are not in the market to use a funeral home in the near future but if we are… There really is no choice. Thank you Park Memorial!"

Terry Lashyn

"Park Memorial was amazing. These people have one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Constantly surrounded by sad people, yet they maintain a loving, caring and respectful demeanour. My first contact was late evening jan 22 2021. My brother was found deceased in his apartment. They had someone there to collect him in an hour and a half. The 2 gentlemen that picked him up were so kind and thoughtful. I was a complete mess and they reassured me they would take good care of him. Next contact was with Brad. Once again very kind and helpful. We then came in and met with Nicole. She was thoughtful and walked us through my brothers arrangements so throughly still keeping a kind disposition. Then today I received a call my brothers urn was to be picked up. Tracy sat down with me and was so compassionate to our story and even became emotional too, which just showed me how much these people have to endure dealing with grieving people and attempt to not bring that home with them. The level of care and compassion I received from everyone is very much appreciated and made a horribly traumatizing event seamless and as painless as possible. Bless you all and all your hard work. Thank you again."

Jodi Byrne-Marsh

"I cannot say enough about the care and service your Park Memorial Family provides to your clients. I had a very sudden unexpected death of my sister in an Edmonton Hospital a few weeks ago. She was not from Alberta, and her son didn’t make it in time to see her. He was obviously devastated, and wanted to see his mother. It was a Saturday evening, and since I knew of your Funeral home, I called it. I was pleasantly surprised that a real person answered (not answering machine) took our information, said he would arrange to have her picked up, and someone would call first thing in the morning to make arrangements for us to see her. This arrangement was made and we got to spend a couple of hours with her. We were never rushed, Robbi was very kind and caring, and when we were ready, we sat down with her to go through all the logistics, and start arrangement. We soon realized we needed a SIN# which was at her home 1100 km away, and her son had to go back to get it, which paused arrangements. We decided to have a Chapel service for her family here before cremation. Again, Robbi got it organized ,even finding us a Priest to do the service, as we knew nobody here. The two gentlemen attending us at the service (sorry, I do not remember their names) were so compassionate, caring and kind. We encountered several of your staff while making arrangements, and your staff is truly a Family who work together to provide clients with outstanding service during a very difficult, trying time. Your staff made an unbearable situation bearable. Your kindness will not be forgotten. Please pass my sincere Thank You to Robbi and others who attended us."

Sonia Mudry

Tod Smolyk started out in 1941 as a funeral director with a dream. He had his own embalming instruments and 12 friends who had each contributed $100 to help him start his company. One of the doors he knocked on introduced Tod to Lucy Kostynuk, who ended up becoming the funeral home’s largest investor. To be able to contribute his share, Tod had to donate his embalming instruments to the company at their appraised value. The courtship of Tod and Lucy turned into an engagement, and the rest was history.

Tod and his fiancée, Lucy, were married at 3 p.m. on November 29, 1941. Instead of heading out to enjoy a honeymoon, they opened the doors to their new funeral home at 6 p.m. that same evening. Park Memorial's first hearse was a 1941 Ford panel truck that was converted locally, and the first car used to chauffeur families was a used Studebaker sedan. Click here to learn more about our first steps as a family company.

As business improved, the company expanded to communities outside of Edmonton. The Vegreville branch was purchased in 1943, the Lamont branch in 1946, the Vilna branch in 1951, the Wildwood and Mayerthorpe branches in 1955, and the Smoky Lake branch in 1956. The present Edmonton building is not the original. The former building was sold and moved off the property and the current building was built in 1963 on the original site of Park Memorial at the corner of 97 Street and 111 Avenue.

The current building was actually built right around the original as it was located on the space that is our front (north) parking lot today. The size of the original 1941 building was much smaller and would have fit entirely in the space occupied by our present chapel.

Sadly, Tod passed away suddenly in 1976, but his son Jerry was ready and willing to carry on the family business. Jerry and his wife Midge purchased the company shares from his mother Lucy, and they owned and operated the company very successfully for 41 years, until Jerry’s passing on October 18, 2017, leaving a legacy of achievements for Park Memorial.

Jerry grew up in the funeral profession as Park Memorial was started by his parents, Tod and Lucy Smolyk in 1941, when they got married and opened the funeral home on the same day. Serving families and ensuring that they had the best funeral experience possible was what he always strived for. It’s what he learned from his own father. He never saw things in just black and white, as he knew there were always shades of gray. Jerry always went above and beyond to help a family who was in need or was dealing with special extenuating circumstances. And regardless of the situation, he always strived to be fair, honest and ethical. He had high expectations and wanted his family and staff to always help out where they could, as he knew that positivity and kindness always comes back to us in some way, somehow. Jerry was always an advocate and champion for the funeral profession. He attended almost every single provincial, national and international convention throughout his many decades in the profession. With an incredible amount of enthusiasm and energy for the profession, he was one of the first to stand up and share his opinion, yet he was open minded and quick to let others know when they had a thought that made him reconsider his stance on things. Jerry thought that every opinion shared was worthy of thought and consideration. Some of his strongest friendships emerged from his relationships with colleagues, and their mutual support and respect for one another.

One of Jerry’s first interviews in 1975 quoted him as saying, “I love being a funeral director and I am proud to be in funeral service. I see our association as a fellowship between members…companionship, not a competition.”

This belief in his profession led Jerry to hold various positions and give of his time and energy to virtually every level within the profession. He served as chairman of the provincial school committee; served on committees for public relations, government relations and disaster services; he was a board member of the national association for 12 years, eventually becoming the president of the Funeral Service Association of Canada in 1978-79; he was a board member and president of the Alberta Funeral Services Association from 1979-80; and he was one of the founding members of the Canadian Independent Group of Funeral Homes in 1990. Jerry was also recognized by his peers for many of his professional accomplishments. He was presented the FSAC Award of Merit in 2010, which is awarded to those individuals who go above and beyond and who truly look for the greater good in funeral service… where time and time again they will put the profession in front of their own personal goals. In 2011, Jerry was presented with an Honourary Life Membership from the Alberta Funeral Service Association (AFSA). He is one of only six people to have ever been presented this award. He worked hard to earn the respect of his colleagues and it was important to him to know he earned it. Following his death in 2017, Jerry was posthumously awarded the Robert Snodgrass award in recognition of outstanding excellence in community service, contributions to AFSA, and enhancement of the funeral profession.

Currently in its third generation into the company's management, Kirstie Smolyk, Tod's granddaughter and Jerry's daughter, continues the funeral tradition of the Smolyk family as president of Park Memorial. She has been leading the organization for well over a decade. Park Memorial truly walks forward as a family business, as Kirstie’s mother Midge, sister Lindy, and husband Nelson are all involved in day-to-day operations.

Kirstie shares her journey into her role in the family business: “I grew up in the funeral profession, so it was an easy tie-in. I grew up colouring under my dad’s desk, playing in the staff room, and it was what I knew. I worked at the funeral home all through university but wasn’t sure what I really wanted to do with my career.

I thought I wanted to be in marketing, and my dad, who was president at the time, agreed and saw the value of my pursuit of different opportunities, learning from other industries and professionals. A few years later, I came to a crossroads in my career, and we went for a ‘Daddy / Daughter’ lunch. He recognized the breadth of experience that I had acquired in my time away from funeral service and invited me back. It was the right time, and I accepted. I desired to see the business thrive, and to see our family heritage of caring for bereaved families continue. I also better understood the flexibility that comes with leading a family-owned business.” Steadfast in her desire to see the legacy of her grandfather and her father thrive under her leadership, Kirstie is a force of kindness, compassion, and community development.

Brad Eleniak

Funeral Home Manager, Funeral Director & Embalmer

Funeral Home Manager, Funeral Director & Embalmer