Obituary of Olga Checchia

On Friday August 28, 2020, Olga Checchia, loving mother to 5 children, widowed, passed away at the age of 88. Olga was born on July 21, 1932, in a small hill town in Italy. As a young girl, she apprenticed and became a master at sewing and intricate embroidery. Her passion in sewing carried through her home life in her home town and later when she married and raised a family. In 1956, she married Domenico Checchia, and settled to life in Canada after emigrating. She continued with her sewing, making beautiful creations for the whole family to wear in style. She really knew how to dress us kids. Dresses and hats on Sundays, bow ties for the boys when attending mass. Amazing meals graced our kitchen table with Olga at the helm. Her unbelievably delicious pizzas were devoured immediately after they came out of the oven; there were loaves of home made bread during her ‘bake-a-thon’ where she was up at 5 a.m. and did not stop baking loaves until late at night, all to ensure good home baking and a supply for about a week. Her giardiniera was unforgettable - there were vegetables of every kind, which she grew in her huge garden, preserved freshly, and she had so much energy left over. She squeezed time to make traditional hand made pasta from her own recipe, handed down from her own mother, ‘orecchiette’, which was smothered with her own tomato sauce recipe. Her Easter bread was the tradition for spring and she prepared it only then. All these things and so much more, she made by hand and from scratch with love. Our family remembers this well. Another passion was her love of nature in flowers and trees. She ensured that she had plenty of them, and so many different types. Upon visiting her, you could see that her garden was the extension of her own inner beauty and peace. She was proud to take visitors around in the garden and talked about how much pleasure she took in it. When she came to live with Anita, Joseph and family, she happily took on the challenge of planting, tending and sharing of all that the garden produced with everyone in our family. In our family, that love transferred over to all of us. Together with her husband Domenico, she raised 5 children, Giovanna (Joanna), Dina, Nicola, Mike, and Anita. Her passion was in the caring of her family. She ran her household with lots of love and nurturing, and of course structure, ensuring that her children were well behaved always! Domenico became ill later in life, She saw to it that our Dad was cared for and loved each day for 10 more years, until he passed away in 2002. Then she was alone and we mourned him for a long time. But, she was not alone for long, for her son Nicola moved back home, keeping her his valued company. The fortune in this was that she had the gift of her own quality time with Nicola for a number of years; fate would have him pass on unexpectedly and suddenly at the age of 46. She was heartbroken once again, this time for the loss of her son, She drew upon the strength of her family and in time her pain eased.She was known for her subtle dry humour, quick and quiet wit, and her calm gentle demeanour affected everyone around her. Her faith in God was undoubted, and her duty as a wife, mother and homemaker was seen in every gesture, in everything she said, and everything she did, every day. She was our living angel.She is survived by 4 of her 5 children and extended families. In addition, she is survived by 6 beautiful grandchildren. She continually reminded her grandchildren how proud of them she was, and how much she loved them, with her whole heart. She warmly welcomed and loved her new grandsons-in-law when they became part of the family.We will miss her and we will never forget herAs directed by the Province of Ontario and the Bereavement Authority of Ontario the attendance at the visitation, funeral and cemetery is restricted to 30% capacity or less and a record of attendance must be maintained.Wearing of masks, or face coverings, by everyone is mandatory during their time in the funeral home or cemetery.Respecting the current situation and pandemic building restrictions, a service will be held for invited guests only.Please take a moment to sign the online guestbook to share your condolences with the family.