Olga Valeria Nogas

1933 - 2022

October 14, 1933 - November 5, 2022

With sad hearts we announce that Val (Olga) at the age of 89, surrounded by her family, passed away peacefully at her home. Fred, her husband of 65 years, recently passed away on October 19th. She will be dearly missed by her sons Craig and Rob, grandsons Benjamin, Jacob, Matthew, Griffin and Charlie, her loving sister Maggie, and many friends and family.
Val was born in St. Catharines, Ontario to Juliska and Jozef Likavec. Growing up in St. Catharines, Val was extremely active and lived by the saying, "a body in motion, stays in motion." Val was very active in the Hungarian community in both the arts and athletics. She performed on stage at concerts in both dance and song, sang in a folk group and participated in mass gymnastics at special events. Attending St. Catharines Collegiate, not only did Val excel academically, often standing first in her class, she also participated in the "life" of the school. She sang in the choir, played intramural volleyball, belonged to the badminton club and was class rep to the student council. Val also made the basketball team but when the doctor's examination revealed a heart murmur, the school wouldn't allow her to play, so she became team manager instead.
An honour student through both elementary and secondary school, Val was awarded the coveted grade 12 proficiency award for the highest marks in the Commercial curriculum. In her graduating year her yearbook picture and comment simply stated "Our Top student. Olga always had a winning smile for everyone." After graduating she remained active with badminton and playing on the basketball team both at St. Georges Church. Additional activities included synchronized swimming, ballet lessons and performances and playing 3rd base on a city softball team. After her softball teammates inquired about her middle name, Val became her name of choice.
After graduating in 1951 she started working as a secretary at Charles Taylor & Co. In 1954, encouraged by a friend, she joined to McKinnon Industries/General Motors in St. Catharines, doubling her pay.
Rathfon Hungarian camp, in Port Colborne was a frequent destination for the Niagara Hungarian community. Picnics, visits, mass gymnastic practices, events, and barbeques were often held there. It was here in 1952 that she met this really nice guy Fred Nogas from Thorold. On May 18, 1957, Val and Fred were married at St. Paul St. United Church in St. Catharines and moved to Toronto to start their new life together.
Receiving glowing recommendation letters from her previous employers, Canada Malting of Toronto, was quick to hire her. There she remained until giving birth to Craig in 1960. Fred and Val built a home in Lorne Park Mississauga, where they lived for the rest of their lives. Here in their lovely home Val took on her most challenging job yet as a stay-at-home mom with 2 very rambunctious boys.
Continuing to learn was in Val's DNA so in 1970-73 she obtained her Grade 13 English and History credits through the Peel Board's continuing education program. She also earned University English credits taking night courses at U of T.
Val returned to the workforce in 1982 with the Canadian National Sportsmen's Show. She earned a Certificate in Public Relations at Ryerson in 1988 and was Public Relations Manager until retirement in 1998.
Val loved her family deeply and truly cared about other people. Val was a giver. At home, she was always baking and cooking up treats, not for herself, but to have on hand so at a moment's notice she could make visitors feel welcomed, fed and loved. She was a masterful chef and loved to host and entertain. Val insisted that she host and cook all family festive and special occasion dinners. This was no small task as the number of mouths to feed on these occasions normally exceeded 12. The family always looked forward to her mouth-watering dinners and great get-togethers. No one ever left hungry with the Hungarian-Ukrainian fusion style cooking.
Val enjoyed all the fun times at their chalet at Devil's Glen Ski Club. While the rest of the family and guests were enjoying the slopes, Val usually spent the day in the kitchen, cooking up a storm for all to enjoy after skiing.
Val loved to travel the world. She would search out Operas overseas and fly to see them in cities such as Florence, London, Paris, Venice and Vienna to name a few.
Besides her love of family and travel, Val thoroughly enjoyed her many friends and neighbours, and cherished the old along with the new. She was loved by so many. Throughout her adult years, tennis at ORC and Shoreline tennis club brought much enjoyment and great friendships that were cherished to this day.
From an early age Val was and continued to be a lover of classical music, opera, drama, ballet, literature and reading. She took years of lessons in both piano and ballet. It came naturally for Val to volunteer for The National Ballet Company of Canada and the Canadian Opera Company. She enjoyed many years of holding season tickets to both companies. Volunteering extended to Red Cross, Salvation Army and the Canadian Institute for the Blind among many.
Val had been her dear husband Fred's primary caregiver for the last several years and was the one who truly kept him going for longer than the experts imagined. This ultimately took a toll on Val's health. Although always private and strong-willed, she never revealed the pain she was in. She was ever the upbeat one, and for those who spoke to her, the conversation would always start with a perfectly high-pitched musical "Howdy Doody", and the conversation would usually end with the same musical tone of a "Toodle Loo". Hearing that lovely voice will be dearly remembered and sorely missed by all.
The family would sincerely like to thank Dr. Catherine O'Brien, Dr. Rajiv Khanna and the many compassionate professional health workers who cared for Val during her lengthy illness. We give our heartfelt thanks to sister Maggie for her countless time and assistance with the family care.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a future date for both Val and Fred together. At Val's request, in lieu of flowers a donation to Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation would be appreciated.