ALEXANDER JOHN HOLOWKA (ALEC)

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ALEXANDER JOHN HOLOWKA
October 30, 1983 – August 31, 2019

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Alec Holowka.
He is remembered by his parents, Deborah and Gregory; younger siblings, Ian (Katie) and Eileen (Peter); extended family; as well as friends and collaborators across the world.
Alec was a quiet, attentive, and caring child. He loved being creative, whether he was drawing, making movies with his family, or writing music at the piano. He started making games after his father purchased him a programming book, Basic Fun, at the age of eight and began working as an independent game developer shortly after leaving high school.
He won numerous awards for his two major releases, Aquaria (2007) and Night in the Woods (2017), but also contributed music and programming to a number of other independent games. Despite his success, Alec was uncomfortable with attention and awards, and preferred to spend his days at cafés making things he cared about. He was working on a new, unannounced project, The Last Winter, with his sister and a small team from Winnipeg when he passed away.
Alec spent most of his life contributing to the Grey Street United Church's annual Dinner Theatre productions, first as an actor and later as a composer and accompanist. He loved the church community and deeply appreciated the time spent being creative with others. He would work together with his family to write, direct, and produce a new show each year, going so far as to sometimes help out from Vancouver when he lived there.
Alec started and contributed to a number of indie game projects within Winnipeg. He collaborated with a team to create an indie game arcade machine called The Winnitron and also ran the first ever Winnipeg "Peg Jam." He believed in making indie game development accessible and worked hard to promote marginalized and emerging developers.
Throughout his life, Alec suffered from a number of mood and personality disorders. He used his success to promote mental health awareness and was always willing to talk openly about his experiences. He loved working at Forth Café, taking his parents out for dinner, and travelling to visit his friends and siblings.
His music and games held significance for so many people. He cared deeply about those in his life and loved collaborating with others.
We would like to thank the Manitoba Crisis Response Centre and the Crisis Stabilization Unit for all the support they gave Alec over the years.
Donations can be made to Canadian Mental Health Association.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at a later date.
Publish Date: Sep 7, 2019

ALEXANDER JOHN HOLOWKA
October 30, 1983 - August 31, 2019

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Alec Holowka.
A longer obituary will be published on Saturday.
Publish Date: Sep 5, 2019

As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 05, 2019, Sep 07, 2019