Obituary of Karol Wojtak

Wojtak, Karol

Karol Wojtak passed away on July 17, 2023, after a long life full of both hardship and adventure. He was born in Cewelicze, Poland, on September 7, 1925 (1926 in official records). Our Dad and his family survived deportation to a Siberian labour camp by the Soviet military in 1940. They lost everything, including their farm in Eastern Poland that their father had worked so hard to build. After being released from Siberia, our Dad’s family became refugees and were assisted by the Red Cross and eventually settled in Melton Mowbray, UK. Our Dad joined the Polish cadets and, in 1943, enlisted with the Royal Air Force working as a radio fitter for the remainder of WWII. He often spoke of his service in Egypt and Malta, his beloved dog that he adopted in Egypt, and the adventures he experienced with the RAF.

He met our mother, Winifred (d. 2015), in Grimsby, UK, and they moved to Canada in 1957. Dad worked for many years for Northern Electric in Montreal and then for the City of Windsor, ON. He is survived by his five children, Andrew Walters, Susan Howard, Michael Wojtak (Hilary Carson), Anne Wojtak (Denis Schingh), and Andrea Wojtak (Wayne Hissong); and his six grandchildren, Lia, Trevor, Kara, Aidan, Finlay, and Coleby. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Josef Palimaka (a fellow WWII veteran) and by many nieces and nephews in Canada and the UK. He is predeceased by his parents, Maria and Josef; his five siblings, Stanislaw, Antoni, Szczepan, Franciszka, and Waclaw; and by his daughter-in-law Karyn Walters.

We would like to thank the staff at Extendicare London for their compassion and for assisting with the care of our Dad in his final years.

A celebration of Karol’s life will be held on September 9, 2023, at St. Peter’s Basilica, 196 Dufferin St., London, ON. Visitation will begin at noon at St. Peter’s followed by a Funeral Mass at 1:00 pm.

In honour of Karol's experiences as a refugee, donations in his memory can be made to the Red Cross or Caritas Canada.