Elena Cristina Simonaitis

On July 6, 2007, Cristina slipped away peacefully in the arms of her children at St. Joseph's Hospice. Cristina was born in Lusiana, (Asiago) Vicenza Italy, November 25, 1925 and was named after her great Uncle, General Cristiano Lobbia. She was an incredibly brave and courageous woman, who always put herself last. As a child she spent a lot of time with her father and Zio Chichi, who showed her the many mysteries the dolomites held, including the many secret passages that were used during the First world war, and revealed to very few. Those secrets, served her well during the Second World War. (Some of those same passages were used as recently as the war in Bosnia to get medical supplies, food and fresh water through to the needy. ) Because of her petite stature and girlish looks, she quite often ran messages to the partisans and was able to divert them from the Nazis, as well as the fascists. At one point she was put to work in the Nazi kitchen and lowered into huge cauldrons to scrub them clean for the next meal. They then put her on the assembly line putting together small bombs. She quickly realized that those very bombs were going to be used against her countrymen, and possibly her family and friends, so she risked her own life by filling as many as she could with sand and sawdust. She said many a time that if what she did saved one soldier and spared one mother a lifetime of tears, it was worth the risk. . . her colleagues followed her example. She met and married Jonas Simonaitis, a Lithuanian University student studying in Milan, in 1946, and she and her two sons immigrated to Canada in 1953 to join her husband. Once again she took on the many challenges that faced her being in a new country, not knowing the language nor having any family support. Cristina was an excellent cook, and could prepare a feast with very few ingredients. Shortly after her arrival, the many children she took care of during the war also started to immigrate, and they all came looking for Cristina, for a meal and a place to sleep, if only temporary. At one point she found herself with eighteen borders and three children, all looking to her for guidance, yet those were happy times, as in the evening they all sat outside on the steps, singing acappella. She owned and operated Simonaitis' Confectionary for many years and was also a Red Cross Homemaker for 10 years, yet she also found the time to teach young mothers how to cook, nutrition, how to sew, and knit, and home economics, but the most important thing to her was family. Cristina was a life long member of the Ladies Venet Society. Cristina was predeceased by her husband Jonas 2004, her two sisters Ninetta and Felicita in 2006, her son- in- law Bruce Gresch 1993 and her parents, Giovanni and Caterina. She will be forever loved and terribly missed by her children Ferruccio "Fred" (Gloria), Mario, Laura (Ray), Francesco (Barb), David (Lisa), her grandchildren Steven (Dominique), Patrick (Lisa), Ryan, Catherine (Scott), Celeste, Dylan and Emily and great grand-daughter Chelsea as well as her brother Antonio nieces and nephew in Italy. She was also adopted by many children throughout the world as their "Nonna" too. Her life was not an easy one, she faced it bravely, but in the end it was an enemy she could not see, nor a battle she could win, yet in her last days she said that whether it was three hours, days or months, they were gifts, and to always remember that. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday July 11, 2007 when friends and family will gather for Funeral Mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Anthony's Church, celebrated by Rev. Lino Santi c.s. Inurnment will follow in Our Lady of Charity Mausoleum. Vigil Prayers will be offered on Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Blake Funeral Chapel. As expressions of Sympathy, donations to St. Joseph's Hospice or the Northern Cancer Research Foundation in her memory would be gratefully appreciated. We will miss you. Riposa in Pace. A tree will be planted in memory of Cristina Simonaitis in the Blake Funeral Chapel Memorial Grove. Annual dedication service Sunday, June 29, 2008. On-line Condolencesmay be sent to www.blakefuneralchapel.com"