Some sad news in the neighbourhood of the passing of Klara Ihasz, a well-known and loved Cabbagetowner. She suffered a stroke in mid-December and passed away on Christmas Eve at 87 years of age.
Her daughter Claire writes “I’m sure people will know her from the neighbourhood. She was always in the garden, or collecting empty bottles to take back to the Beer store. She loved the Cabbagetown festival and even at 87 years of age she had a yard sale this past Sept. Nothing made her happier than schlepping all of her “treasures” out on to the street to sell to the neighbours. And she was generous to a fault – cooking and bringing food to neighbours who were sick or feeding the local animals in the neighbourhood. She always carried peanuts in her one pocket for the squirrels, and hungarian salami in the other pocket for the dogs! We will miss her.“.
Doug Fisher wrote in his blog that “she was known for her enjoyment of her friends and neighbours, her enthusiasm for all kinds of dogs and other animals, her yoga and her dill pickles. In the 1990s. her cabbage rolls won a prize in the annual Festival cabbage cooking contest. She suffered a stroke in mid-December and died on Christmas Eve at 87 years old. Our condolences go out to her daughter, Claire and son-in-law John McLeod.”
From her notice on the Rosar Morrison website:
Mrs. Klara Elizabeth Ihasz
September 10, 1928 – December 24, 2015
Blessed with a life spanning more than 87 years, Klara was a woman of many layers.
She was a survivor of the Great Depression. An eyewitness to the Second World War. An abandoned child. A refugee. A rebellious teenager in love. A wide-eyed emigrant to New York City. A weaver. A bookbinder. An abused wife. A loving mother. An emigrant again, this time to Canada and another new start. A strudel-maker. A shoe-maker. A cancer survivor. A superintendent. A traveller. A yoga practitioner. A lover of animals who always had peanuts in her pocket for squirrels and biscuits – sometimes salami – for dogs. A keen gardener. An excellent baker. An award-winning cabbage-roll cook. A skilled seamstress. A yard-sale queen. A pastry enthusiast and a chocolate addict. A tireless worker. A secret smoker. And a fearless and very eccentric combiner of patterned fabrics. She was proud, independent, welcoming, adventurous, generous to a fault – and irreplaceable. For all of this and so much more, she will be sorely missed.
Come celebrate her very full life at Rosar Morrison on Wednesday December 30, 5-8 pm, and at the funeral at the Chapel of St. James the Less, Thursday December 31, 12:30.
Please join us at John and Claire’s house – 406 Wellesley St. E. – following the ceremony.
If you wish to order flowers, please call Ladybug Florist directly.
If you prefer to make a charitable donation instead, please send to Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary – woodlandswildlifesanctuary.ca.
If you would like to let others in the neighbourhood know of the passing of a Cabbagetowner, please have their family contact us.