John “Johnny” Sabo passed away Sunday, October 11, 2020 at Portal Village, Port Colborne just 2 weeks shy of his 93rd birthday.
John was born October 29, 1927 in the township of Wainfleet, ON and resided there his entire life.
John is survived by his daughters Sharon McMillan (Jim), Sandra and his son Leslie, his grandsons Ian McMillan (Shauna), Graeme McMillan (Lauren), Travis Sabo, his granddaughter Chantal Sabo (Eric) and the sparkle in his eye his great granddaughter Nora James (Graeme), his brother Donald (Colleen), brothers in law Gordon Poth, Richard (Lorraine) Poth and his friend of many years Dawn Minor.
He is predeceased by his parents Joseph and Teresa Sabo (Ott), his beloved wife Eleanor (Poth), his in-laws Joseph and Helen (Buscis) Poth, siblings George, Joseph, Mary, Steve, Louis, Frank, Elizabeth “Betty”, Rose, Anne, Irene, Helen and sister in law Geraldine (Gordon) Poth.
John’s family was one of the earliest European settlers in Wainfleet. They settled into this farming community in the early 1900’s and were involved in many aspects of the township’s growth.
Although John was an avid farmer raising chickens, cattle and beef for both home consumption and commercial sale and gardener of sweet corn, tomatoes and his walnut trees, John also worked for over 37 years at the now closed Nickel Plant in Port Colborne and TRW Products in St. Catharines.
John’s great love was spending time on one of his many tractors whether Massy Ferguson or Kubota. These tractors played an important role in many well-loved family & friend adventures, such as driving hay rides and helping family and friends collect Christmas greenery from his white pine stand. John also enjoyed hosting a number of pig roasts on his family farm.
John canvassed for over 20 years for the Heart & Stroke in Wainfleet and was honoured for his many successful canvasses.
John also travelled extensively with friend Ross, grandsons Ian & Graeme and his daughters. A well-loved trip was a return to Hungary and other parts of Eastern Europe with his daughters where he celebrated his 79th birthday.
John will be fondly remembered by his nieces, nephews and his many euchre friends throughout the region. He also had a special friend he played many cribbage games with.
The family wishes to thank all the staff of Portal Village for their compassionate and attentive care of John these past 2 years. Special mention needs to be made of Portal Village nursing staff, Para med Palliative care team and Dr. Scher. Their caring assistance at this challenging time has lessened the pain of John’s passing.
In lieu of flowers donations directed to the Heart Function Clinic or the Thrombosis Clinic at the Hamilton General Site of Hamilton Health Sciences will be greatly appreciated by the family.
Cremation has taken place. A private funeral mass will be celebrated at St. Elizabeth’s Roman Catholic Church in Wainfleet. A private family interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery in Welland. A celebration of life to bring together all of John’s family and friends will be planned for a later date.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Lampman Funeral Home in Fenwick. Please visit www.lampmanfuneralhome.com to leave an online condolence.
“John will always be remembered for his kind, gentle smile.”
**Donations in John’s memory may be made online at https://hamiltonhealth.ca/donate/ or by calling Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation at 905-522-3863**
John will be missed. Such a long life and wonderful memories of days gone by! May God find a good room in heaven and I know Geri And many others will be playing cards with him. Rest In Peace John. You will be missed.
SANDY, SHARON, LESLIE AND FAMILIES, I WAS SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR FATHER. THIS IS A SAD TIME FOR YOU ALL. MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE SENT AT THIS TIME.
Sharon, Sandra, Leslie and families sorry for your loss, a great family man. He will be missed by all that new him
Dear Sharon, Sandra and Les so very sorry to hear about the loss of your dad. I hadn’t seen him for a number of years – probably the last time was at the Heritage Festival – we always had a great conversation – he was always interested my family and what we were doing.
The best to all of you – stay healthy and strong.
Sandra, I am so sorry for the loss of your father. Hugs n prayers to you and your family
Sharon, Sandra, Les and families so sorry for your loss.Johns quiet, humble demeanor was always admired.His love of farming in Wainfleet inspired many including me.Whenever I see a walnut tree I will think of him.
Jim and I are so sorry for the loss of your father.
My Uncle John will always have a special place in my heart. He has left me with wonderful memories making several trips to visit me and my family in California throughout the years. He had a beautiful and caring family that surrounded him throughout his many years. I know you have now entered into heaven.
To the Szabo Family
I am very sorry to hear of the loss of your Father John. He was an awesome guy and a true friend to our family. A travel mate with my Dad Ross in their later years and the constant delivery of vegetables and Zucchini for my Mom at our family Home in Welland.. Jessie loved to get those deliveries on the porch even if he had missed them at home. Trust me we all benefitted from those deliveries. I know you will miss him but thank you for sharing him with our family over the years. Donna
We will greatly miss his stimulating smile and humor. The memories of the hay rides and happy times in the country will always be with us especially during these tumultuous times. It saddens our heart that we cannot be with you all to celebrate John’s life and offer our sincere condolences. He will be in our prayers. Love to all from Paul and Rosemary and family.
This is such a sad time for our family. But I am far from uncle John’s immediate family and I can only guess how much sadness is being felt. I have such fond memories of uncle John out on his farm when I was a child, visiting from California with my mom Betty and dad Joseph. I’ll never forget that special visit many years ago. Stay safe and strong, my dear family. We may be far in miles but you are close to my heart. ❤
So sorry to hear about your dad – my thoughts and prayers are with your family. John welcomed me into his family through my friendship with Sandra and Sharon – we had many great chats and I enjoyed his company at dinners and pig roasts at the farm. He was a great cook and host! John was also a good friend to my dad – Ross Morris. Together they travelled and enjoyed many outings over the years. I will always remember the fresh vegetables delivered to our home and John joining us for a coffee at the kitchen table. He was a wonderful friend to our family and he will be missed. Thinking of all of you at this time. Deborah
To Sandra, Sharon, Les and family and Dawn so very sad to hear of John’s passing. We have very fond memories of John and although he is gone he will never be forgotten.
My condolences to your family – he was a well respected man and an asset to his community
Dear Sharon, Leslie and Sandra,
I’m so sorry for your loss of your wonderful father. This obituary is so beautiful and tells the story of a strong, good and kind man…your father. Thinking of you in these very tender days, and sending you love and prayers every
morning for John’s eternal rest and for your peace. Love, Deanna, JP and Gracie
Dear Sandra, Sharon, Les and family. Such a beautiful tribute to your dad. Always a twinkle in his eye and a warm welcome whenever we visited. Family gatherings at his farm and sharing the bounty of his garden gave him tremendous joy! How very fortunate you are to have those memories. With much love – Shari & Don Lovell
Oh and one more thing. John gave us a beautiful Rose of Sharon bush many years ago. It was small when we received it but it has grown into one of the most beautiful features in our garden. We often remark on what a lovely memory of him it provides.
Dear Sandra, Sharon, Les and all the family,
I was so hoping to be able to include in your most beautiful tribute to your dad one of my very favourite photos of he and our dad, Steve, smiling and sharing a toast at one of the family reunions about five years ago. But I cannot find it in that digital ‘drawer’ : (……. As well as being an awesome photo of our dads, to me, that photo just encapsulates the beauty of literally decades of family and friendships, one and the same, that we have grown up knowing and sharing in the Lowbanks/Wainfleet area with ties to so many other places near and far. We are truly blessed to have had the friendship, wisdom and good humour of our dads and grampas for the time we did. Dave and I will both miss Johnny….but with a warm smile and good memories. May the love you shared with your dad and grampa give you strength and help to carry you through this very sad time and may your faith give you peace knowing your dad, grampa and friend is safe and happy and reunited in Heaven with all who are waiting there.
Dear Sharon, Sandra, Leslie and families, we are sorry for the loss of your father. We always enjoyed John’s smile and friendly conversation. Rita, Dorothy, John and Harold Loeffen.