Obituary of Mr. John Francis Skrabec

John Skrabec passed away early Sunday, January 14, 2024, at the age of 92.

John was born April 10, 1931, and grew up in Toronto with his brother Ed and sister Mary. He was a very studious and focused individual who graduated from the University of Toronto in 1957 with an Honours degree in Chemical Engineering. He met Gloria in 1959 and became her steady boyfriend in 1961. After much patience on her part, they were married in 1963. Ironically no time was wasted as their first child (Catherine) was born in February of 1964 followed by David two years later and Anne Louise two years after that.

Throughout his career, he travelled extensively both nationally and internationally and our family relocated several times. Even during our peripatetic childhood, dad always managed to be available for trips to the library Saturday mornings and swimming several times a week.  Family vacations were also a priority.

After John retired, he became a lecturer to graduate students at U of T. He was very supportive of his Church and its many charities.  He had a very high brow sense of humour. He was a meticulous keeper of family history, avid reader and enjoyed travelling.  John was quite passionate about gardening and enjoyed taking care of his lawn. Making sure that when his kids came of age they mowed the lawn properly, inspecting after each mow. His motto was “if you’re going to do something, do it right…and do it right the first time”. He was an excellent role model for how to negotiate yardwork, household repairs, road trips and mothers-in-law.

He is still much loved by his wife Gloria (nee Capelazo) and his children, David (Deanna), Anne Louise Weaver (Gary), Catherine and granddaughter Susan (Sky).

He will be missed.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society.