In memoriam, Ontons Kūkōjs

Ontons Kūkōjs was a Renaissance Man. Though little known outside of Latgale, the easternmost province of Latvia, Kūkōjs works and deeds have had a lasting influence upon generations. Many Latvians will remember him as an actor, notable for his performance in the motion picture "Cilvēka Bērns" ("Human Child.") Others will regard him for his writing, poetry, plays and screenplays; as an educator, a teacher and school director, artist, and museum curator. He was a champion of Latgale, a largely rural province that oft comes out on the short end of both politics and economics. Latgale is beset by high unemployment, which has hastened the flight of many young and able-bodied residents to Western Europe, and a crumbling infrastructure that lags far behind that of the city of Rīga and the more Western provinces of Latvia.

Ontons was born the son of a Blacksmith in the little village of Ruduki in the borough of Nautrēni, in the district of Ludza, in the eastern part of the province of Latgale in the midst of a World War at the time of Winter Solstice, December 23 1940. After receiving elementary education, he studied Art in the city of Rēzekne. He would become a teacher, first in a rural schoolhouse, and later in the Rēzekne school district. He had a long affair with the screen and stage. As an actor he tackled many roles among the classics of Latvian drama, and he would always find work in most every capacity of the theater -- as an actor, director, set designer, and even wrote some plays and telefilms himself. His most famous play was "Traks vai no Rogovkas," ("Crazy or from the village Rogovka.") He had a deep respect and love for his native land, its language and culture, and this was often expressed in his many poems and in his paintings. Ontons also composed the school song of the University of Rēzekne.

Ontons was a loving husband, father, and grandfather; and friend, mentor and inspiration to many. He had been ill for some time, and passed away in the wee hours Wednesday, April 18, 2007. A wake will be held on Saturday April 21st in the Nautrēnu parish Roman Catholic Church in the village of Rogovka. He will be interred in the Nautrēnu borough "Desetnieku" cemetary, the final resting place of many notable sons and daughters of "Māra's Land," such as Pīters Miglinīks, Andrievs Jurdžs, and Pēteris Jurciņš.