Zygmunt Janiewicz has been missing since May 17.
August 18, 2019 - 8:39 AM
KELOWNA -Zygmunt Janiewicz, the kayaker who went missing May 17, appears to have died from a heart attack.
Janiewicz was the subject of a lengthy search when he went missing. It ended up being fruitless but family and friends raised the funds needed to bring in a U.S. sonar operator and the 71-year-old man's body was found in recent weeks in 170 feet of water half a kilometre from Gyro beach .
In an obituary posted this week, the family says Janiewicz died of a heart attack while kayaking on the Okanagan lake.
Janiewicz was born in Jaroslaw, Poland to Stefan and Bronislawa. He studied surveying and geology at the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy in Krakow, Poland. In his youth Zygmunt was engaged in numerous sports.
He was in the Polish national kayaking league, had a brown belt in judo, was a ski instructor and a life guard. In 1987 with his family, Zygmunt emigrated out of Poland to free himself from the shackles of communism.
In recent years he became a caretaker to his wife, who suffered from dementia.
"He never gave up on his wife and stood by her side until the end. Zygmunt will be remembered as a proud man, yet with a big heart. He was always honest, always generous. He is survived by his wife and three children," reads teh obituary.
A service for him will be held today.
Janiewicz was a caregiver to his wife who suffered from dementia. His son told iNFOnews.ca in June his father was an experienced kayaker but the weather that day might have been too much.
Donations to the family can be made here.
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