Obituary of OLGA SURASKY

Olga Surasky

Olga Surasky, affectionately called Baba and also beloved wife, mother, aunt and friend, passed away peacefully, on Wednesday, August 21, 2019 in her sleep at Seven Oaks Hospital.  

She will be terribly missed by:  daughter Lydia and her husband Gerry; son Alec and his wife Linda; grandson Alan and his wife Amanda; three beautiful granddaughters, Kathryn, Danielle and Alannah and great-grandsons Harrison and Elliot.  Olga is also survived by her sister Lydia and several nieces/nephews all in Ukraine.  Mom was predeceased by her parents, Gabriel and Anna Radchenko who lived in Ukraine, her brother Walter Radchenko in Ukraine and her husband of 53 years, our Dad, who Mom called “the love of her life”, Alexander Surasky.  For Mom, the family was her world.  One of her greatest pleasures was cooking and having the entire extended family over for dinners on holidays.  Her holubchi and perogies were legendary.  The other pleasure was sewing and spending many loving hours making wonderful coats and outfits for her children and grandchildren.  Over the years, Mom found a new youth in her granddaughters and grandson, and spent many lesson filled hours with them and wishing she could have spent more with her great grandchildren.

Two words describe Mom:  determined and resilient.  Mom’s life began on March 28, 1928 in the city of Krivoy Rog in the Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine.  Taken by the Germans at the tender age of 15 and placed in a work camp in Magdeburg, Germany, Mom learned at a very young age what was required to survive.  After World War II ended, forever industrious, she did not return to her family in Ukraine but instead opted to go to England, boarded with a family, held several jobs while learning the craft of sewing,  the English language and met and married the very handsome Alexander Surasky in 1950.  Fearing another war in Europe, Mom and Dad along with their daughter Lydia, immigrated to Canada in 1953, where Mom became a seamstress with Sterling Cloak (later Sterling Stall) until she retired.

Mom never settled for “good enough” and this legacy lives on in us and her grandchildren. 

We would like to extend our appreciation and thanks to the medical staff of Seven Oaks Hospital, Unit 5 for the compassionate care they provided Mom these past few weeks and in particular for Dr. Finlayson’s attention to detail when initially diagnosing Mom.

Funeral service will be held on Thursday, August 29 at 11:00 a.m. at Cropo Funeral Chapel, 1442 Main Street, with the Very Reverend Fr. Alexander Harkavyi officiating.  Interment will follow at Glen Eden Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers we respectfully request a donation to the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mary the Protectress or to a charity of your choice.

Vichnaya Pamyat