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Peacefully, with loving family by his side, Jozef Varga passed away at Vision Nursing Home on Thursday, August 15, 2024, at the age of 88.
Jozef (Joe) Varga was born in Topolany, Slovakia January 16, 1936. Predeceased by his parents Mikola and Paulina Varga, his sister Margetta, brothers Michael and Victor. Survived by his wife of 45 years, Frances, in Sarnia, as well as nieces and nephews in Slovakia and Canada.
Joe came to Canada in 1969 to escape communist rule. He arrived in Edmonton on a Friday afternoon and had his first job as a finishing carpenter the following Monday. Joe worked in Edmonton for a few years then moved to Toronto East. Even in these early years, he took great pride in knowing how to save his money.
Joe eventually moved to Sarnia where he met and married Frances Kahanek in 1979. Joe became a Home Building contractor and built many homes in Sarnia/Lambton County. He continued to do a lot of the finish carpentry work himself. One of their homes was across from the Slovak Church where many a party spilled over to their back yard until the wee hours of the morning.
Joe built two homes in Florida where he and Frances spent many winters enjoying life with friends and neighbours in Port Charlotte.
He was a proud and active member of the Carpenters Union and the Knights of Columbus. Joe spent his last one and a half years at Vision Nursing Home where the staff provided exceptional care and compassion. Special thanks to Frances’s niece Cindy Smith and friends Kathy and Larry Sterling for the support they provided Joe over the years.
Family and friends will be received at Smith Funeral Home, 1576 London Line, Sarnia, on Sunday, August 18, 2024 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. with prayers being held at 3:30 p.m. A funeral service will be held at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, 1465 Lecaron Ave, Sarnia, on Monday, August 19, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. Interment to follow in Resurrection Cemetery. Sympathy may be expressed through donations to Diabetes Canada or the Alzheimer Society Of Sarnia Lambton (cheques only at the funeral home please).
