Michael (Mike) Rudkin

Michael (Mike) David Rudkin

We are deeply saddened to announce that our dad, Mike Rudkin, passed away peacefully at the age of 93 on February 5, 2026, at Tudor House in Selkirk, Manitoba.

Dad was born in South Porcupine, Ontario, to Jack and Ruby Rudkin. He was raised in a quiet household as an only child after his younger brother, Ian, passed away in childhood.

His life became much noisier when he was 17 and fell in love with the love of his life, Rita Jean (née Harnden). When Mom and Dad were married 72 years ago, he worked as a border crossing guard. However, Mom fully believed in Dad’s potential and encouraged him to go to university so he could pursue his dream of working in finance. After graduating, he began a fulfilling career with the Federal Business Development Bank (now BDC) and retired at age 55 as Vice President of the Atlantic Provinces in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Dad was surrounded by a household of women, as he was blessed with three daughters (our words, not his), who later added sons-in-law to his life: Chris (Myron) Yuzdepski, Barb (Gerry) Peterson, and Tracey (Scott) Curell. His family grew to include six grandchildren: Scott (Aleesha), Brian (Marlee), Jaimie (Colin), Catie, Sydney, and Paige, as well as three great-grandchildren and four step-great-grandchildren. At family gatherings, Dad would always turn to Mom and say, “Jean, look what we started,” with a smile on his face.

With each promotion, our family moved to a different province, which means Mom and Dad built friendships across the country. When we were growing up, there was a core group known as the Dirty Dozen in Winnipeg that became friends in the 1960s and are still friends to this day, although the group is much smaller these days. There are wonderful memories of their many friends visiting them at their cottage.

Dad really enjoyed staying active, such as curling at the Deer Lodge Curling Club, doing mall walks at Polo Park, and golfing. Oh, how he loved to golf. He was an active member for years at both the Assiniboine Golf Club and then the Kenora Golf Club.

His favourite place to be (when not on the golf course) was at the cottage at Lac Lu. Dad and Mom purchased the cottage in 1977, and every weekend Mom and Dad and their constant companion (Mocha the dog) would head out for the weekend. When Dad retired, they would spend six months of the year at the lake, which had family and friends coming and going all the time.

We all have wonderful memories of Dad at the lake. Whether he was making martinis for his girls, BBQing in the rain, filleting his grandchildren’s fish, putting anyone who walked by in the clampers, or supervising the sons-in-law while they were doing cottage repairs, he always wanted to be involved — except when the fax machine rang (aka nap time).

Dad heard the fax machine for the final time on February 5. He will be sadly missed by all who loved him and those who knew him.

We would like to thank the wonderful staff at Tudor House for the care and tenderness they showed all of us before his passing.

In keeping with his wishes, cremation has taken place and family ceremony will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dad’s memory may be made to the Selkirk & District General Hospital Foundation.

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