MICHAEL (MIKE) KOSTYAL, beloved husband of Kathleen Kostyal of Lethbridge, passed away peacefully on March 23, 2011 at the Chinook Regional Hospital at the age of 85 years.

Mike is survived by Kathleen, his wife of 63 years; daughter Pat (Bev); son Larry (Donna); granddaughters Jaymie and Darcy (Shaun); great-granddaughter Rylyn; brother-in-law Mike (Ivy) as well as several nieces and a nephew.

Mike was born in Menyhe, Czechoslovakia on January 31, 1926 where he was raised and educated. In 1939, at the age of 12, he emigrated to Canada with his parents, sister and brother-in-law. The family moved to the Picture Butte area and farmed there for many years. Mike was in the Canadian Army from 1943 to 1945.

In 1945, Mike met Kathleen and they married in 1947. They continued to farm in the Picture Butte area until 1966 when they sold their farm and moved to Lethbridge. Mike worked for 18 years at Woolco Department Store in maintenance and greatly enjoyed his time there. In 1991 he retired and he and Kathleen spent their retirement years travelling, fishing and gardening until increasingly ill-health restricted his activities and forced him to slow down. None-the-less he took much pleasure in playing cribbage with any and all comers. Mike will be remembered as a loving family man who had a ready smile and cheerful greeting for everyone he met. We will miss him greatly.

Vigil Rites (Prayers) will be held at 7:00PM on Wednesday, March 30, 2011 at the MARTIN BROTHERS RIVERVIEW CHAPEL, 610 - 4 Street South, Lethbridge, Alberta.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:30AM on Thursday, March 31, 2011 at the ST. BASIL'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, 604 - 13 Street North, Lethbridge, Alberta. Interment will follow in the Mountain View Cemetery.

For those who wish, memorial donations may be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Alberta, Box 2211, Lethbridge, Alberta, T1J 4K7.

Send condolences at www.mbfunerals.com.