Obituary of Sophia (Sonia) Kolibaiev

Passed away peacefully in the early hours of Sunday April 6 of old age, having enjoyed wonderfully good health for all of her 103 years.

Sophia Olissoff was born on July 20, 1921, in London, England, to Russian parents who had fled after the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, followed by two younger brothers, George and Peter.

During World War Two, she went through nursing training, sometimes walking home during blackouts with her feet straddling the sidewalk curb so as not to get lost.

The war also brought her future husband into her life, Peter Kolibaiev, born in the Ukraine, a Red Army soldier taken prisoner of war, who wisely refused Stalin’s invitation to return to the Motherland after hostilities were over and made his way to England. They married in London in 1952, then moved north to Leeds where their three sons were born: Alexis (Valentina), Julian and Leon.

In 1961, the family moved to Montreal, Canada, where Peter took over the pastorate of the New Canadian Baptist Church serving Slavic immigrants, and Sonia found work as an X-ray technician, working half-days so as to be at home when her children returned from school. She was also active in church, leading the choir and teaching Sunday School.

She retired from the medical profession in the mid-1980s, and, when Peter retired as a pastor in 1992, they moved to Ottawa.

In retirement, she and Peter enjoyed travelling until he passed away in 2000. In her widowhood, she would travel with friends, and on one trip to the Volga River in Russia, she re-established contact with the lost Russian branch of the family.

Throughout her life, Sonia demonstrated many admirable qualities: great resourcefulness (she taught herself many skills such as refinishing furniture), clear-headed practicality, a love of art and music (she played the piano and loved reciting poetry), and a concern for others.

Central to her life was her belief in God and the assurance of salvation through Jesus Christ. It lay behind the steady good humour and sunny outlook that all who knew her prized. It also inspired her unflappable response to adversity.

A funeral service in her honour will be held at Pinecrest Remembrance Services, 2500 Baseline Road at Greenbank, at 1 PM Thursday 17 April.