Obituary of Anna "Anne" Pidwerbesky (nee Lojik)

Pidwerbesky, Anna "Anne" (nee Lojik) - Born on January 16, 1932, Anna passed away peacefully on April 7, 2018 at her home in Toronto. Lovingly remembered by her daughter Kalyna, son Lev, sister Jenny, niece Christine, nephew David, extended family members and close friends.
Visitation will take place at the George Darte Funeral Home, 585 Carlton Street on Wednesday from 5-8 pm. Panachyda will be held in the funeral home at 7 pm. Funeral Rite will be celebrated at Ukrainian Orthodox Church of St. George, 8 Augusta Avenue, on Thursday at 10 am with burial to follow at Victoria Lawn Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to St. George's Ukrainian Orthodox Church Building Fund or Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Born during the Depression of the 1930’s into a working class immigrant family in Montreal, and then later moved to St. Catharines where her parents started a farm. After graduating high school, she held a number of clerical positions at McKinnon’s (later GM) in St Catharines, Lipton’s in Toronto, etc. Anna married in 1959 and accompanied her husband to US colleges and universities in Wyoming, Michigan, Iowa where she also worked in clerical position. She suffered many family losses including her infant daughter (Nadine), her ailing father (Stefan) her husband (Taras) who died suddenly at the age of 47, her father-in-law (Wasyl), her mother (Katharine), her mother-in-law (Maria), and her brother-in-law (Jim). Raised her two small children as a single mother and provided a stable, loving home. From that point on throughout the years she was a life-line of support and all-round caregiver for her loved ones. Anna embraced her Ukrainian heritage since childhood (playing in mandolin youth group, singing in Ukrainian women’s choir, etc) and later for her family she acted as a bridge between Ukrainian cultural traditions and Canadian life. Throughout her life, she was always thinking of others before herself and in her later years she never wanted to be a burden to anyone. She loved to experience nature through her many travels (western US and Canada) with friends and family, and at home in the garden. She enjoyed doing crossword puzzles, watching her favourite movie classics, and keeping up with news and current events around the world. She loved to chat with friends and neighbours. Anna was happiest tending the garden, baking and cooking in the kitchen, and spoiling our dog (Nimo) with love and treats.