It is with extreme sadness and broken hearts that we announce the peaceful passing of Anton “Tony” Sabotic, our beloved dad and loving grandfather on Monday, October 3, 2022 with his three children by his side.
Tony was born on June 8, 1946 in Borjana, Slovenia where he resided until the age of 24. In pursuit of a better life, he immigrated to Toronto where he was sponsored by and resided with family who were very dear to his heart. His cousin Marica and her husband Vlado took dad in as their own son and helped him to get on his feet and seek employment upon his arrival into Canada.
He worked at the Ford plant for several years and dabbled into other jobs on the side. He developed a strong and loving relationship with Marica and Vlado’s children, Eddy, Anna and Lori. Together they created many wonderful memories with lots of laughter, good food, many drinks, great friends and always with so much love.
In 1979, Tony found love and followed his heart to her hometown of Thunder Bay and shortly afterwards married the mother of his children Evelyn. Tony was proud of his children, instilling hard work ethic, generosity and always willing to help them out. Our dad grew to love the city of Thunder Bay and took a liking to hunting and fishing, something he enjoyed in his younger years. He shared many fond memories of his hunting trips to Beardmore.
He was employed by the Provincial Papermill where he worked as an employee for 27 years, known to his fellow coworkers as “Sonny”. Tony always worked hard and stayed motivated to always provide for his family. Our dad truly was one of a kind. His sense of humour was something he was well known for and never did he “beat around the bush”, always would say it like it was.
His children, grandkids and extended family and friends loved being in his presence as there was never a shortage of laughs. He was always a positive person who never let anything bother him and had a great mindset in whatever he did.
One of his favorite pastimes and daily routines consisted of coffee at Robins donuts with his crew. He loved the daily discussions, and we will miss hearing the daily Robins updates. Some of the other things Tony enjoyed were food, cooking (best sauce maker), gardening, his love of Nascar and tennis, going through food flyers, Judge Judy, Dr. Phil, Judge Mathis and chasing after his grandkids.
Besides all these things he enjoyed, his true love and passion was for his family, particularly his role in being such an amazing grandpa. His 6 gems were the world to him and brought so much joy into his life. He was the best grandpa they could have asked for.
Tony will always be lovingly remembered by his three children: Jason Sabotic (Bronagh), Melissa Sabotic (Dave), Lori Plouffe (Travis). His six grandchildren, Max, Lily, Tucker, Gracie, Cormac, and Camille. He will be dearly missed by the mother of his children and dear friend, Evelyn Sabotic, mother-in-law Helen Cvornjek, sister Nada (Slovenia), brother Ludvik (Australia), cousin Marica and family (GTA) and many other brother/sister in laws, cousins, nieces and nephews all over Thunder Bay, Slovenia, Australia and GTA.
Tony was predeceased by his parents, Natalija and Ludvik Sabotic, brother Frank, father-in-law Rudolph Cvornjek and other cousins and nephew.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to Dr. Bezanson for his compassion and care of our dad throughout his diagnosis, we are forever grateful. Special thank you to nurses Steph, Victoria and Lily for their professionalism and care of Tony.
A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, October 8, 2022 at St. Margaret’s R.C. Church with Rev. Ciaran Donnelly officiating. Visitation for family and friends will be held one hour prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, donation may be made to Thunder Bay Regional Cancer Centre or the Canadian Cancer Society. Online condolences may be expressed at www.sargentandson.com.
Dad, our hearts are broken, you are now at peace. We will always love you and cherish the memories…..until we meet again.
