John Holunga

John Holunga

July 24th, 1925 – March 27th, 2026

It is with great sadness that the family of John Holunga announce his passing on Friday, March 27th, 2026, at the Elizabeth Center, at the honourable age of 100 years.

Before moving into the Elizabeth Center, Dad was a lifetime resident of Coniston, remaining his home until January 2025.

He was the first child of Wasyl and Olena Holunga. Born in July 1925, Dad is predeceased by his brothers Mike, Alex (Elsie – predeceased), Nick, and by his sister Annie.  Survived by his sisters Mary Shiplack (Phil – predeceased) and Stella Turcotte (Gerry – predeceased).

Dad started working as a young teen with local contractors to help support his family. It was while working as a roofer that he met and fell in love with a young widow, Florence Hrycay (née Strilchuk), after a short time they married in October 1959. He took on a ready-made family with two very young children. He was a wonderful father.

Dad recently said, “I had a good life!”. He enjoyed his “good old days” memories, stories of shenanigans with his brothers and a lot of close friends.

He was a very social man, enjoyed sports, going to camp and get togethers with family and friends, having a few drinks and lots of conversations. Dad was part of the Quarter Century Club at INCO, he worked in the carpenter shop for many years, he enjoyed the people and the work. He kept himself busy building and helping others, creating many pieces of furniture and kitchen items, all of which were enjoyed by many. Many homes were built and remodelled by him. He was proud to say he was retired (1984), for more years than he worked.

In Dad’s later years, he enjoyed going for walks around the block “up the hill”, spending most of the day shooting the breeze with many friends and neighbours, all of whom he really appreciated and cared about.

He thoroughly enjoyed his 100th birthday celebration in July 2025, surrounded by many friends and family members in his hometown of Coniston.

Dad was predeceased by Florence in 2024; he would often say he had 66 wonderful years.

Left behind to mourn and celebrate a well-lived life are his children Daniel Hrycay (Shelley) and Donna Babiuk (Mike). Loving Didi of Kristie (Rob), Steven (Mel), Darryl and Kristopher. Dear Great Didi of Kody, Brooke, Danika and Henley.

Predeceased by Florence’s parents, Michael and Anastasia, and siblings, Annie, Josephine, Mary, Kay, Stella, Alice and Mike. 

Predeceased by Florence’s first husband, Walter Hrycay, parents Peter and Dora Hrycay and sisters Nadine Kosiw and Olga Bazylykut.

Dad will also be missed by many loving nieces and nephews from three wonderful families.

We wish to thank the doctors, nurses, PSW’s, specialists and all of the wonderful staff at the Elizabeth Center for the excellent care, kindness and compassion. Dad cared about and enjoyed all of you. Also, his roommate Frank who watched out for Dad and was a good friend to him and our family.

Donations can be made to the Canadian-Ukraine Foundation at https://www.cufoundation.ca/ .

Internment will take place in late spring or early summer.

Cremation services provided by Simple Wishes of the North, Sudbury and Crystal Crematorium.

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