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Marvin Pytel
Smoky Lake RCMP Detachment members arrived and secured the scene, and then spent the day trying to contact the people inside. There was no response. Local police had no idea whether Dean Pytel was still inside with the gun. They contacted the Emergency Response Team. Nearby houses were evacuated. Secondary 855 was closed and a police fan out message went to all Alberta police forces and the general public asking for assistance in locating Dean Michael Pytel, age 38, male, 6 ft. tall, 165 pounds, brown hair, hazel eyes. The bulletin asked police and the public to watch for him driving either a blue 1982 Ford Courier pickup, or Marvin's gold 1976 Dodge van. They said he was armed and dangerous and should not be approached. The RCMP's spotter Cessna flew laps around the farm house all afternoon, looking for clues as to which way Dean Pytel had gone. Was he still in the area? Dogs were called in. Edmonton tactical police searched the Edmonton condo complex of Marvin's ex-wife where sometimes Dean stayed when he wasn't living with his father in Smoky Lake. The police did not enter the Pytel house until nightfall. RCMP said it was one of those tough calls. Do you storm in and risk someone else getting hurt, or do you leave the situation as is? Late in the afternoon the emergency response team entered the Pytel residence and located Marvin Pytel, age 65. He had been shot in the side of the head and was lying in the hallway of the farm house - dead. Relatives believe he died instantly. At approximately 10:30 p.m. that night, members of the Calgary Fire Department thought the driver of a truck was impaired. They stopped it, contacted the Calgary City Police, who then arrested Dean Michael Pytel. He has now been charged with two criminal offenses: careless use of a firearm and first degree murder. He appeared at a show cause hearing at the Provincial Court House in Fort Saskatchewan, November 23. A prayer service was held for Marvin Pytel Monday, November 26, in Edmonton, and a Divine Liturgy was held November 27 in Smoky Lake at St. Olga and Volodymyr's Ukrainian Catholic Church. Marvin Pytel was buried at St. Paraskevia Cemetery north of his farm. In lieu of flowers donations were to be sent to the Schizophrenic Society of Alberta. Dean Pytel had been treated by Dr. Fred Lobay of Smoky Lake and had been in and out of Alberta Hospital during the past year. He was treated for schizophrenia, but refused to take his medication. Schizophrenia is a bio-chemical disorder characterized by hallucinations, faulty thought patterns and paranoia. It strikes one out of every hundred people and is commonly treated with medication and psychiatric counselling. But some patients don't like the dulling down of drugs. In Alberta, adult patients have the legal right to refuse medical treatment. Families often have long struggles with loved ones who go off their medications. Marvin never gave up on his son Dean. Marvin was the eternal optimist, always believing that with the right medication Dean would get better, but tragically it did not happen. Dean lived at the farm with his father for a number of years before the tragedy. With his troubled mind he could not concentrate long enough to hold a job. Much of Marvin's energy was spent worrying about his son, a son who often stayed up all night, building things in the shop or drinking coffee. Marvin Pytel's niece, Barbara Phillips, gave the eulogy at Marvin's funeral, Tuesday. Marvin was born in 1936 to Steve and Mary Pytel. He was their first born. They lived near Warspite, later moving to Smoky Lake area, when his parents purchased the Stosky farm. He attended White Earth School, then in grade 10 he was bussed to H.A. Kostash School in Smoky Lake. He had many friends. Winter nights they would clean the snow off a pond and play hockey. He loved sports, later playing semi-professional football for the Calgary Colts. Leaving high school he joined the Canadian Air Force and stayed for three years. He moved to Calgary where he started his own company designing and building homes and office buildings. Locally he is known for rebuilding Schesnuk's Toyota dealership. He married Merilyn Bowers and they had four children: Steve, Dean, Katrina and Eva. He loved his children very much. He worked tirelessly to ensure he could spend times with them. There were many fond memories such as summers at Shuswap Lake boating, waterskiing, fishing and visiting with friends. He also took his family to Disneyland and Mexico, driving down the west coast, stopping at the many attractions along the way. When Merilyn and Marvin divorced, she moved to Edmonton and he lived in Calgary. Seven years ago, he moved to Smoky Lake when his father died. Marvin had built the house on the farm for his parents, and with only his mother living there, he moved north to be close to her. It was not a sacrifice for him to return to the farm he loved, and he felt right at home. The saying that you can never go back home again did not fit in this case. He got involved with the community and was a tireless crusader, as quoted in the Edmonton Journal. His love of history and historical things were his passion. He worked on fixing up White Earth School, which is now a hall. Other projects in the works were saving the grain elevator in Smoky Lake and trying to get funding to restore the St. Paraskevia Church. He is now buried in its graveyard. He taught others Reiki. He was active in the curling club. Ten days ago he was voted Curling Club vice president after serving as director. He worked at the Pumpkin Fair, always ready to give a hand. As chairman of the Smoky Lake Grain Elevator Preservation Society, he spent the last evening of his life at Smoky Lake town hall trying to convince council to get the land for the project. The November 30 deadline for the society taking over the elevator was quickly approaching, and the $20,000 security deposit that Smoky Lake County Council in a straw vote had promised, had yet to be confirmed by an official vote and the next official county meeting wasn't until December. The third worry he discussed that day before was helping a friend in B.C. who was about to lose control of his dryer bypass vent manufacturing company. There were many facets to a busy life, which ended so abruptly. The second session of the Reiki class to be held at the Smoky Lake Library as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Library, ended with his death. Reiki is the technique of transferring healing energy from one person to another and Marvin Pytel was a Reiki Master. He lived by the Reiki principles: just for today, thou shall not anger; just for today, thou shall not worry; be thankful for the many blessings; earn thy living with honest labour and be kind to thy neighbors. It was a life he led to the end.
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