Fonds CR-104 - John Landysheff fonds

John Joseph Landysheff was born in Russia August 3, 1893. He graduated from the Chemistry Department of Saratov Technical College in 1913. His career as a chemical engineer for a beet sugar factory was interrupted by WWI in which he served as an officer in the Russian Imperial Army. During the Russian revolution he served with the White Army in East Russia until the end of 1920. He left Russia with the remnants of the White Army, settling in Harbin, China. In 1925, Mr. Landysheff and his new wife immigrated to Canada (Alberta), becoming a Canadian citizen in 1931. He eventually resumed his career, becoming Chief Chemist for Canadian Sugar Factories Ltd. (later British Columbia Sugar Refining Co. Ltd.) by 1930, and worked in Raymond and Taber, Alberta. In 1958, Mr. Landysheff was transferred to the Vancouver office as a research chemist. He became a resident of Delta in 1959 and retired to Tsawwassen in 1961. While in Canada, his two children were born, a son in 1927 and a daughter in 1938. His son died in 1964 and his wife in 1974. In Alberta, and later in Delta, Mr. Landysheff was active in community work. His enthusiasm for gardening lead to volunteer work as a weather observer from 1961 to 1979 for the Meteorological Branch, later the Atmospheric Environment Service, of the Canadian government. As well, he became keenly interested in community beautification and planning for parks and recreation. He belonged to the Evergreen Gardening Club, Vancouver Botanical Garden Association, and the South Delta Park Association, and assisted in the design of several landscaping and nursery projects. His interests also included volunteer work with St. John's Ambulance. In recognition of his community work, Mr. Landysheff received many awards, including Delta Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 1970.