Decore, John

Decore, John [Дікур, Іван; Dikur, Ivan], b 9 April 1909 in Andrew, Alberta, d 11 November 1994 in Edmonton. Lawyer, judge, and politician; father of Laurence Decore. Graduating from the University of Alberta in 1938, Decore practiced law in Edmonton and Vegreville from 1939 to 1965. From 1949 to 1957 he represented Vegreville constituency as a Liberal in the federal House of Commons. His influence was important in helping members of the Division Galizien who were British prisoners of war to emigrate eventually to Canada. In 1950 he was parliamentary adviser to the Canadian delegation at the United Nations. In 1958 he was president of the Alberta Liberal Association. Decore was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1963, and in 1965 he became chief judge of the district court for northern Alberta; since 1979 he has been a justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. Active in the Ukrainian community in Edmonton, Decore has served as president of the Ukrainian Professional and Business Club and of the Ukrainian Canadian Committee in that city and as a director of Saint John's Institute.

  [This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]