Another year is gone, and as is the case every year, 2021 has seen the passing of Sudburians and former Sudburians who have made a mark on the city or on the wider world.
Sadly, a few of those on our 2021 list are casualties of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As of Dec. 31, 47 people in the area covered by Public Health Sudbury and Districts have died from COVID-19.
Our condolences go out to everyone who has lost a loved one over the past year.
Below is a list of Sudburians who died in 2021:
John Hannah
John Hannah, a music professor at Cambrian College for nearly 30 years, passed away Jan. 4 at the age of 77 after a lengthy period of declining health. Hannah’s obituary said he was raised in Shediac, New Brunswick and pursued studies in piano performance at Acadia University and Boston University. Upon completion of his studies, he taught piano privately in Saint John, New Brunswick, where he was very well known in the community, and he also assumed the position of organist at St. John’s (Stone) Church. Following this period, he held part-time teaching positions at Mount Allison and Acadia Universities. In 1973, Hannah moved to Sudbury, where he became the head of Piano Studies at Cambrian College until he retired in 2001. He was the organist and choir director at the Church of the Epiphany for close to 20 years.
Nicholas Fex
A young Sudbury man who faced many medical challenges throughout his life passed away Jan. 17 at the age of 22. Sudbury.com (and its predecessor publications) featured Nicholas Fex’s story several times throughout his short life. Fex was born with tracheoesophageal fistula; a condition in which an abnormal channel, called a fistula, connects the windpipe – or the trachea – to the tube that leads from the mouth to the stomach – called the esophagus. Fex was a big fan of the Sudbury Wolves, and the hockey club paid tribute to the young man on its Facebook page upon his passing.
George Armstrong
George Armstrong, died January 24 at the age of 90 after a storied career as a hockey player, coach, scout and assistant general manager. He is remembered as a humble man. Solid, dependable, someone who would lead with humility, who was never boastful. He was also well-known for his First Nation roots, so much so that the entirety of the staff and players of the Maple Leafs he played with – and everyone in hockey since then – called him ‘Chief.’ It was a name that he bore for his friends and teammates, but because of his Indigenous identity it was a name he struggled with. He will be remembered for his giving spirit, his identity, and his connection to his hometown, including taking his mother to Sudbury Wolves games.
Warren Woods
Warren Woods, a reporter with CKSO radio in Sudbury and TV sports reporter in Timmins in the 1970s, passed away Jan. 20 at the age of 66 after having contracted COVID-19 in November. Woods was well known in Regina, Saskatchewan as a sports broadcaster there.
Ann Suzuki
Sudbury artist, craftsperson and arts educator Ann Suzuki passed away Jan. 26 at the age of 86. Biographical details provided by the Art Gallery of Sudbury said her artistic focus for over 40 years was on colour and design as it relates to textiles. She worked in the ancient technique of batik, using silk, wax and dyes to create unique colour combinations and intricate patterns, and designed and produced bespoke fashions. You can check out her beautiful work on her website. Suzuki had an extensive history in invitational exhibitions in Ontario public art galleries, including the Agnes Etherington Art Centre (Kingston), Art Gallery of Hamilton, and Tom Thomson Art Gallery (Owen Sound), among others.
Taisto Eilomaa
One of the founders of Finlandia Village, Taisto Eilomaa, 91, passed away Jan. 30 from COVID-19 during an outbreak of the virus at the Finlandiakoti apartment building. The entrepreneur and immigrant was a prominent member of Sudbury’s Finnish community. His daughter remembered him as a loving father, grandfather and great grandfather.
Donald Odjig-Fisher
The first recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine in Northeastern Ontario, Donald Odjig-Fisher of Wiikwemikoong First Nation on Manitoulin Island, passed away Feb. 27 at the age of 94. He received the vaccine at Wiikwemkoong Nursing Home Jan. 13. Odjig-Fisher was a Second World War veteran.
Charlie Rapsky
Well-known Sudbury artist Charlie Rapsky, 91, died March 17 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Rapsky's last exhibition was in 2018 at Fielding Park. As was his hope, he will live on in his paintings which were popular with art collectors throughout Canada. He was one of Sudbury's best-selling artists and his work commanded thousands of dollars. In 2016, he won the Sudbury Arts Council President’s Award of Distinction which honoured his commitment to the arts and artists. Rapsky is survived by his wife, Shirley, two sons and their children.
Mick Lowe
Award-winning Sudbury journalist and author Mick Lowe passed away peacefully at his home at Pioneer Manor April 17. Lowe, who was 73, died as a result of complications from a fall he suffered weeks before. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and immigrated to Canada in 1970 as a Vietnam War draft dodger. Lowe’s journalism has appeared in a range of publications such as Maclean’s, Canadian Business, Canadian Lawyer, the Globe and Mail and on CBC Radio. Lowe is also a former editor of Northern Life, Sudbury.com’s predecessor publication, and the author of seven books (with another pending publication), as well as a former lecturer in Cambrian College’s now-defunct journalism program. He was well known for his coverage of issues such as health-care and local labour disputes. In 2008, Lowe, who was a father, stepfather, grandfather and step-grandfather, suffered a stroke that left him disabled. In his later years, he lived in Pioneer Manor due to his care needs, but he never stopped writing.
John Sahadat
The Professor Emeritus of religious studies at the University of Sudbury died May 3 at the age of 85. John Sahadat arrived in Sudbury in 1964, travelling from his home in Trinidad to study at Huntington University. He went on to graduate with a degree in philosophy and religious studies, and after travelling to India and the United Kingdom, returned to teach the same at the University of Sudbury for more than 40 years.
Kaireen Crichton
The founder of the Blue Door Soup Kitchen passed away June 11 at the age of 96. A volunteer bookkeeper at Christ the King Church shortly before she founded the Blue Door Soup Kitchen in 1982, Crichton found a steady stream of parishioners and community members knocking at the church door, asking for any food that could be spared. “I was concerned with individuals, offering them a place that was non-threatening,” Crichton told Sudbury.com in 2017 at the Blue Door Soup Kitchen’s 35th anniversary celebration. “We always called them our guests, and they were treated, hopefully, in the way you'd treat a guest — the best you could provide, every day.”
Donna Speigel
Donna Speigel is being remembered as a woman of firsts: she organized the first breast examination clinic; she was part of the core group that created palliative care in Sudbury and was part of the group that fought for a cancer centre in northeastern Ontario to be located in Sudbury. Speigel passed away Aug. 1 in her 78th year.
John Maslack
John Maslack, a prominent Sudbury businessman and founder of Maslack Supply in Sudbury, died at his Long Lake home on Aug. 12. He was 95. Described in his obituary as a "successful, yet humble, businessman," Maslack started the company, an automotive and industrial supplier, in 1959 with three employees and a 500-square-foot facility on Barrydowne Road in Sudbury. It has since expanded to 200 employees and 13 locations across Ontario, including a 70,000-square-foot warehouse and training centre on Falconbridge Road in the Nickel City.
James Austin Davey
Former municipal politician, accountant and Laurentian University instructor James Austin Davey passed away at the age of 76 on Sept. 7 as a result of complications of Parkinson’s. Davey, who was born in Sudbury and went by his middle name of Austin, worked as a chartered accountant for Thorne Riddell, and then began his 41-year teaching career at Laurentian University, opening his private accountancy business in 1984. The passion for teaching led him to provide further instruction for the School of Accountancy at York University. Davey was also involved in municipal politics, serving as a regional council member prior to the creation of the amalgamated City of Greater Sudbury, and serving as a Greater Sudbury city council for the 2000-2003 term.
Dr. Janet McElhaney
Accomplished Sudbury geriatrician Dr. Janet McElhaney died at a British Columbia hospice Oct. 21 at the age of 67 after being diagnosed with cancer three years ago. McElhaney studied at the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Medicine from 1982 to 1986 and received her MD with honours alongside the Dr. Harry Weinlos Humanitarian Prize in Medicine, which is awarded to the student who demonstrates humanitarianism and an excellent academic record. A series of prestigious roles followed, and in 2011 she relocated to Greater Sudbury to join the Health Sciences North Research Institute, for which she served as scientific director.
Josée Forest-Niesing
Sudbury senator Josée Forest-Niesing died Nov. 20. Forest-Niesing, 56, had been admitted to Sudbury's Health Sciences North hospital in October to be treated for COVID-19. She was released from hospital on Nov. 14 to recover at home. A statement from her staff after she had been released from hospital advised that Forest-Niesing had been fully vaccinated, but had an autoimmune condition that affected her lungs for more than 15 years. Niesing's biography from the Canada Senate webpage said she was a lawyer by profession. The bio said she began her career in family law and continued to specialize in estate law, real property law, insurance law, civil law, education law and employment law. Forest-Niesing led numerous cases through trial in Sudbury and surrounding jurisdictions, as well as in Toronto. In addition, she had been a Superior Court of Justice Small Claims Court judge and a member of several professional associations and committees. She was appointed to the Senate in 2018.
William Catalano
Former Sudbury journalist William “Bill” Joseph Catalano passed away Nov. 25 at the age of 76. Born and raised in London, Ontario, Catalano grew into a career broadcaster, working in such areas as North Carolina, The Bahamas, and Florida. Catalano arrived in Sudbury in 1971 to work at CKSO Radio and Television as program manager and the first play-by-play announcer for the Sudbury Wolves, covering the team for the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons. From there, Catalano moved up the street to the CBC Television news affiliate, where he served as CKNC news director for four years, before leaving to take on the role as the first senior director for CBC Radio news when it opened its doors in Sudbury in 1978. The Sudbury news went on to be voted on by its peers as the top regional newsroom in the country. During his time at CBC, he taught journalism at Cambrian College for two years. His obituary said that after meeting the love of his life and having three children together, they moved down to North Carolina to raise their family.
James Ilnitski
A man who served as an area municipal politician for nine years passed away last month at the age of 75. James Ilnitski died unexpectedly at Health Sciences North Dec. 8. His obituary said he was “a big believer in giving back to the community and served on the City of Sudbury Council and Regional Council for nine years, representing Ward 4.” Ilnitski worked at Inco as a millwright and retired after 30 years of service. His obituary said he was also heavily involved in the community beyond his time on city council.
