Obituary of Dinah Close

On Wednesday, April 8, 2020, Dinah Close, a loving mother of two children, passed away at Ian Anderson House in Oakville, Ontario at age 69. Dinah was born on May 7, 1950 in Noranda, Quebec to John and Helen Bilogan. As one of two daughters, Dinah’s parents, originally from Poland, immigrated to Canada from Germany after surviving the Nazi camps of WW2. However, at the tender age of 2, Dinah’s parents decided to move the family to Toronto, Ontario in hopes of better opportunities.As a post WW2 baby, also known as part of the Baby Boomer Generation, Dinah’s family resided on Crawford Street in Toronto. She spent much of her childhood in and around the Trinity Bellwoods area. Dinah, in her youth, was a star athlete at both Givens Public School and Central Commerce Collegiate. During her schooling years, she won dozens of accolades for her athletic abilities in track and field. After high school, Dinah worked within the advertising and telecommunications industries for much of her late teens and early twenties. She then married and would take on the most challenging, yet rewarding role there is, that of a stay at home mother for over 25 years. During this time however, Dinah not only raised her children, but was always heavily involved in charitable work. This included an abundance of fundraising for Queensway Cathedral and for its Private Christian School in the Kingsway where her two children attended at the time. However, her most notable and praised charitable work was with The Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Canada where she chaired both the 1991 and 1992 galas. Both events, Dinah received media recognition and awards for her outstanding contributions to the foundation. Aside from her dedication to her philanthropic work, Dinah also had a passion to entertain. This included, but was not limited to, yearly Christmas parties, pool parties, and school day trips with her children. Dinah always had a passion for event planning. It would be during these years that a seed would be planted for the career she was to embark on in the years to come.While continuing to raise her two children as a single mother later on in life, Dinah made the bold and courageous decision to go back to school. With a grand love for history and politics, she attended The University of Toronto where she majored and minored within these two academic disciplines.She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in 2000. After graduation, Dinah re-entered the workforce after a 25-year hiatus. While still raising two children on her own, she worked her way up to becoming a rather successful career woman within the pharmaceutical industry. She started out as an Executive Assistant for both presidents and CEO’s, but eventually found her true calling when she landed in an Event Planner role within the industry. She spent much of her career working for a variety of pharmaceutical companies. However, at the top of Dinah’s career she worked for employers such as Becton Dickinson and Novo Nordisk Canada.From planning national sales meetings, company Christmas galas, to a variety of charitable fundraisers, Dinah was always involved and had a passion for creating the ultimate experience for her guests. Her events were always memorable by employees and were carried out with the utmost class and elegance. Dinah also had a great love for the arts and understanding of different cultures. She loved to travel and did much of this throughout her personal and working life. She also saw the importance of exposing her two children to all of the above. Which she did, even during societal times when it was not viewed as “fashionable” to do so. Dinah also had a tremendous passion for knowledge. She was an avid reader and throughout her lifetime, read thousands of books, while also watching dozens of documentaries. Dinah often quoted Charlie “Tremendous” Jones by saying, “you will be the same person you are today in five years but for two things: the people you meet and the books you read.” This is just one of the many inspirational quotes and wisdom Dinah shared with her loved ones throughout her lifetime. Always optimistic, quick-witted, and content in nature, Dinah always approached life with grace and elegance. She was also beloved by her two children for her loving, generous, protective, and compassionate demeanor. Dinah was preceded in death by her father John, her mother, Helen, her sister, Wanda, and her two nephews David and Steven Kubas. She is survived by her two children, Jonathan and Joey, and nephews, Chris, Jeff, and Cary Kubas. Due to COVID-19 restrictions only immediate family will only be able to attend Dinah’s Memorial Service. For those who would like to donate flowers in memory of Dinah can do so. We ask that deliveries be made to the funeral home on Friday April 17, 2020 by 4:00pm.