Obituary for John Dudziak (November 12, 1932 – April 10, 2026)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend. John passed away in the hospital surrounded by family, at the age of 93, after a prolonged decline from dementia. He will be forever remembered by his loving wife Mary, his precious children Michael (Velda), Christine (Gary), Richard (Sandra) and Steven (Justine), his nine cherished grandchildren Jennifer, Michael, Kaitlin (Rustom), David, Rebecca, Rachel, Peter, Paul and Jonathan, his sister Anne (Bob) and his many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. John is predeceased by his parents John and Maria, his sister Mary and brother Stanley.

John was born in Montceau les Mines, France. From an early age, he worked in the mines and played semi pro soccer in France and later in Canada. John immigrated to Canada with his family when he was 19 years old and lived on a farm in Arthur, Ontario until he moved to Toronto.

John met the love of his life, Mary Rosie Parobek, at his sister’s wedding and the rest is history. He married Mary in 1958 and had 4 beautiful children. John worked extremely hard as a factory labourer and during the summer, spent many weekends at the farm helping his family. When it was time to relax, he loved to watch hockey and action movies, listen to music, dance, play cards and celebrate life events with family and friends.

John retired at age 54 and moved to Peterborough to his dream place on the lake; a place where he found true happiness with nature and the water. From morning till night, he would be kept busy outside. John loved the outdoors and enjoyed gardening, fixing things around the property, swimming, boating, and fishing. He enjoyed making homemade soups from the vegetables in the garden, and apple sauce from the apples he picked in the backyard. While John loved his solitude with nature, he cherished being with family and friends sharing good times, tasty food, and good music.

John was a simple man with a caring heart who loved us whole heartedly. He shared his love unconditionally through everything he did for us and for others. John never sought attention, and he never looked for praise or recognition. He always worked hard to make our lives better and stood by us during the toughest times. His love, wisdom, and kindness were our safety, our strength, and our comfort.

John will be remembered for his dedication to his family, his hardworking nature, and his appreciation for life’s simple pleasures. We’ll always remember his laughter, warm smile, bright blue eyes, funny sense of humour and gentle embrace.

Rest in peace John, Dad, Gigi … until we meet again, you’ll always be in our hearts and never forgotten. We will always cherish the fond memories of you and the special love we shared with you.

To honor John, we welcome you to a Memorial Church Service and Celebration of Life Dinner (Cremation has taken place).

Location: St. Peter's Anglican Church, 3041 Mississauga Road, Mississauga (Corner of Mississauga Road and Dundas Street West)

Date: Thursday May 21st, Memorial Church Service at 2 p.m. followed by a Celebration of Life Dinner in the church hall at 3 p.m.

For the dinner, please RSVP by Friday May 15th by calling/texting Christine at 905-334-4994 or by emailing cafantin@rogers.com.

The Memorial Church Service will be streamed live and can be viewed later on YouTube. The link will be posted about one week prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario.