Obituary for Regina Ziuraitis
Regina (or Rene as her beloved husband called her) Ziuraitis, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 13, in her 90th year, at Labdara Lithuanian Nursing Home. She was born in the village of Ruolaiciai, in the parish of Plunge, Lithuania on July 2, 1928. She met John in the refugee camps in Germany and after the war emigrated to Canada where together with her parents, Justina and Aloyzas Ramonas and her sister Alyte, she worked on a ranch near Vermillion, Alberta. John also emigrated to Canada to work on a farm in Moira, Ontario. A year later Regina and her family moved to Oakville where John found work thanks to his uncle Frank Ancevich. John and Regina were married in Hamilton in April 1949 at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy and they together with Regina’s family set up house in Bronte in an old farmhouse on the shores of Lake Ontario near Oakville. Twins Virginia and Aida were born in 1951 and son John followed in 1952. During sittings for her personal portrait, she was encouraged by the artist Zilinskas to take up art. She took classes at the Ontario College of Art and many painting trips and art work were the result. She painted Oakville and its surrounding towns and countryside, then turned to the North including Algonquin and Lake Superior, following in the footsteps of the Group of Seven. She exhibited her oils and watercolours at Anapilis, the Oakville Public Library, the Bronte Post Office Gallery, and for years at the McLaren- Barnes Gallery. Throughout the 80s and 90s she travelled with John, and often with her children and grandchildren in tow, to the Castle Mountain cabins near Banff in the Canadian Rockies, or to Lover’s Lane cabins in Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia, as well as the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, from where they explored the countryside to paint her oils and watercolours. Despite John and Regina buying their beloved Trobyke (their cottage in Skerryvore, near Pointe au Baril) in 1978, it did nothing to slow down her painting activities. She added Georgian Bay to the beautiful scenes she painted as they canoed and boated through the many islands and channels. Regina was a wonderful and loving wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, and a terrific cook and hostess. Her garden, like her paintings, was a masterpiece of shapes, textures, and colours and her pride and joy.
Regina (predeceased by her loving husband John in 2006) will be sadly missed by her sister Alyte Liskauskas, her twin daughters Virginia (Roman) Dementavicius, Aida (David) Hudson, and her son John (and former spouse Ramute) Ziuraitis, and her grandchildren, Andrea (Bogdan) Zurawik, Andrew, Virginia, Michael Hudson and Jonas (Rima) Ziuraitis, her niece Virginia (Antanas) and nephew Edward (Dalis), and all her friends in Oakville and Toronto. She was the proud great-grandmother of Matthew, Julia, and Natalie Zurawik. Special thanks to her personal in-home caregivers during her last 12 years, Diana, Gerly, Chlaire and Michelle. All the family are grateful for the loving care that they provided in the home. Many thanks to Labdara Lithuanian Nursing Home where she was made so comfortable in her final year. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Labdara Lithuanian Nursing Home, or to the Church of the Lithuanian Martyrs, or to the Alzheimer’s Society of Canada.
There will be visitations at the Ward Funeral Home in Oakville, located at 109 Reynolds St, near Lakeshore Rd., at 2 to 4 pm and 6 to 9 p.m. on Sunday March 18, 2018. Prayers will be offered between 7 and 8 p.m. The Holy Funeral Mass will take place at the Church of the Lithuanian Martyrs, 494 Isabella Ave., Mississauga, at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, March 20, 2018 , to be followed by internment at St. John’s Cemetery next to the church. Luncheon will follow the burial service, in Anapilis Hall D.
Please visit the Book of Memories at www.wardfuneralhome.com
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Regina Ziuraitis 1928 2018.source
Death notice for the town of: Toronto, Province: Ontario