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Page Updated:
July 27, 2009
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Philip Holysh (83,84,85) ¤
March 23, 2009
- Phil worked at HSR for three summers where he
was Staff-in-Training, Composite Junior Assistant Scoutmaster and Senior
Assistant Scoutmaster.
He was the youngest brother of
Victor (74-78), Steve (78-82) and Martin (76-78), who
together have served a family record of sixteen summers at HSR over 12 years.
"It was with indescribable
shock and sadness that I received the news of the sudden passing of my brother
Philip David Holysh on Tuesday March 17, 2009. Phil, or Philly as we liked to
call him, was the youngest of the five Holysh children of Nan and Basil
Holysh. Growing up in Toronto, not only was Phil my “baby brother” but he was
also the youngest brother to my other siblings, Victor, Steven and Linda.
Phil was a free spirit who was able to parlay his love of teaching, history,
travel, and the outdoors into some of the most enviable jobs I could ever
imagine! I remember thinking how my travel experiences, that were and still
are, mostly limited to North America, paled in comparison as I listened to
Phil describe his experiences visiting such exotic locales as the Galapagos
Islands, Tanzania, Easter Island, Durban, and Pitcairn Island. After hearing
about Phil’s adventures, I used to say to myself, “And to think, he even gets
paid to go to all of these places! What did I do wrong along the way?”
Phil built the foundation for his career in education by acquiring a BA degree
in history and political science from UBC in 1991. This was closely followed
by a teaching degree, again from UBC, in 1993. He then decided to take
graduate studies, culminating in an MA degree in history from Queens
University in 1995.
Phil’s teaching career began by sailing around the world on the tall ships of
Canadian based Class Afloat. It was through his experiences aboard the SV
Concordia that Phil’s passion for the ocean and sailing were ignited. And,
although, after spending a number of years on the high seas Phil did once
again become a landlubber, he could not completely purge his love of teaching
out on the ocean from his system. Following some dry dock time teaching on
terra firma, Phil returned to the sea. This time it was for the US based Ocean
Classroom Foundation. In fact, even after Phil joined Fraser Academy, he still
managed to get away for a couple more summers teaching on the schooners of the
Ocean Classroom Foundation.
When Phil did plant himself back on land, it was no coincidence that he
ultimately decided to settle on the ocean’s edge in Vancouver. It was from
Vancouver that Phil would launch numerous travel expeditions, including one to
successfully climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Phil had an unrelenting need to satiate
that travel bug he caught from his voyages upon the Seven Seas and numerous
landings at many of the world’s ports of call.
Following his adventures with Class Afloat, Phil’s next stop on his teaching
career saw him spend 1996 in the classrooms of Canada’s Arctic teaching Inuit
students. After his Arctic stint, Phil worked for a Vancouver based private
school specializing in teaching students with moderate behavioural
difficulties such as ADD and ADHD. Phil also had the opportunity to teach
another group of Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples when, in 1998 and 1999, he lived
in the Cariboo region of British Columbia teaching First Nations students.
Then in 1999, Phil landed a teaching position with the Fraser Academy, a
private school specializing in educating students with dyslexia and other
language based learning challenges. It was in this setting that Phil truly hit
his stride. He poured all of his energies into challenging every student who
came through his classroom to achieve their full potential. When students were
down on themselves, Phil was always there to lend an ear and pull them up, and
helped to make them realize that they could do more than even they themselves
believed. Phil expanded his students’ minds with his own unique, and at times,
unconventional teaching style. Ever the provocateur, he did not shy away from
utilizing controversial statements in the classroom as a tool to engage
students and get them passionate about the material he was presenting. By
refusing to adopt a bland vanilla flavoured teaching style, Phil ensured his
students benefited from a truly unique educational experience.
However, Phil did not believe that education was an activity that should be
limited solely to the classroom. Indeed, in one of Phil’s journal entries
dated December 11, 1995 when he was on the Concordia, he wrote:
"Having taught onboard the Concordia for some time now, it is fascinating to
look back upon my experiences and realize what a unique teaching opportunity
it is. Indeed, some of the experiences onboard this ship are unbelievable in
many ways, be it teaching about the Suez Crisis of 1956 - while you sail
through the canal, or just relaxing on the ship at the end of the day talking
with students and admiring the sunset.
Over the course of five or six months the students (and undoubtedly the staff)
undergo a number of changes that many might have thought impossible. It is
revealing to once again become familiar with what being a teenager is all
about. I'm not all that old, but it is amazing to realize that in so many ways
I have forgotten what it is like to be a student in high school. Living with
forty odd students aboard a rather small (and after five months even smaller)
ship brings it all back. But, that's a good thing, because I think as a
teacher it is important to remember that (dare I say it) there is more to life
than just school. Often students that do not do as well as we would like in
the classroom have all sorts of other skills and talents, and here I get to
see that when the formal teaching day is done. Back home it is easy to just
forget about that student and lament that they aren't scoring as well as they
ought to.
I guess that's what I like best about the Concordia - you get to know students
as people, not just as students. Armed with this little piece of wisdom, I
hope I'm a better teacher."
I am sure Phil had these sentiments in mind when he made history come alive
for his Fraser Academy students by leading them on international trips to
places such as Russia, Germany, and the Czech Republic. Under Phil’s
leadership such trips were introduced into the curriculum and remain to this
day as a cornerstone of the student experience at the Fraser Academy.
But Phil’s successes in his teaching career do not tell the whole story about
my brother. Phil had a unique ability to touch all those with whom he came
into contact. He was a kind hearted soul who was always willing to lend a
hand. When a friend needed something, Phil was always there to offer his help
and support and to willingly share his knowledge and experiences. And on a
personal note, I know that whenever I had questions about some of my own
children’s educational challenges, Phil was always able to provide me with
thought provoking and insightful perspectives. For that I was always grateful.
And I will dearly miss those conversations which will now happen no more.
Phil’s love for sailing and the ocean extended to the music of the East Coast.
He was particularly fond of an artist named Stan Rogers. And it is with the
words from an Eric Bogle song written as a tribute to Stan Rogers that I will
bring my comments to a close.
“But to every sailor, comes time to drop anchor,
Haul in the sails, and make the lines fast.
You deep water dreamer, your journey is over,
You're safe in the harbour at last,
You're safe in the harbour at last.”
Phil, I loved you and I am proud to be your brother. I will forever cherish my
memories of you.
Rest in Peace my dear brother!"
Martin Holysh
March 23, 2009
Teacher, world traveller, sailor,
cook, son, brother, partner, friend. Born March 10, 1968, in Toronto. Died March
17 in White Rock, B.C., by suicide, aged 41.
"Phil Holysh's eldest
brother once described him as having champagne tastes on a beer budget. Phil
savoured the champagne qualities of life, freely sharing them with his family,
his partner, his friends and his students, while eagerly chugging the beery
aspects of day-to-day existence, sharing them, too.
To join Phil was to take a
journey in food and drink, experiences and dreams for the future, always
emotionally fulfilling and satisfyingly mind-opening.
Phil was born and raised
in Toronto's High Park neighbourhood, the youngest of four sons and a daughter
born to Basil Holysh of Ukraine and Nan Cullen of Scotland.
Phil graduated high school
from De La Salle College and studied at the University of British Columbia,
where he earned a bachelor's degree in history and political science and a
bachelor of education degree. He returned to Ontario and obtained a master's
degree in history from Queen's University in 1995, then went back to B.C.,
using it as a jumping-off point for his teaching career and world travels.
Phil sailed around the
world working as a teacher on tall ships for a few years, teaching maritime
history and literature to high-school students. Later, he taught Inuit
students at a fly-in community in Northern Quebec, children with attention
deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at a Vancouver
private school, and first-nations pupils in B.C.'s Cariboo region. He returned
to the seas from time to time to teach or visit the tall ships.
Ten years ago, Phil joined
Fraser Academy to teach history to students with dyslexia and other
language-based learning challenges. His teaching methods were unconventional
but effective. Phil would passionately argue the world was flat and ask his
students to prove him wrong. He led students on excursions to Russia, Germany
and the Czech Republic, and introduced them to the challenges of the Duke of
Edinburgh's Award through camping trips in B.C.
As an educator, Phil
nurtured his students; as a person, he nurtured his dreams. In his mind and
words, Phil imagined a spectrum of possibilities from the fantastic to the
achievable. Over a mug of coffee or pint of beer he would share his dreams:
Get rich quick and buy an island; raise goats and produce cheese; operate a
bed and breakfast; open the Cullen school - named after his mother - for
special-needs students.
Phil lived many of his
dreams - the quiet home in White Rock, B.C., which he shared with his partner
of five years, Rick Dilworth; the Porsche he drove; the tent hammock he slept
in at campgrounds across Canada; the parties he hosted in his many dwellings.
Phil lived his life well."
John Jansen
July 27, 2009
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