Anna Juruc

Ward Funeral Home Obituary for Anna Amiconi Juruc

It is with heartfelt sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved, funny and determined Anna Amiconi Juruc, who passed away with peacefulness and presence, with many family members surrounding her and near by on February 22, 2020 at the age of 93, in Mississauga, Ontario.

She was predeceased by her husband of 27 years, Michal Juruc, in 1979; her grandson Michal Lee Riptide Juruc in 2007; her companion of many years, Vittorio Nardi in 2016; and four of her seven siblings.

She will be greatly missed by her children, Irene (Frank) and Paul, and her four granddaughters, Renée (Joshua), Bianca (Colin), Samantha (Marek) and Katia. Loving and adoring Bisnonna (great-grandmother) to Maxence (Max) (10), Xavier (8), Quinn (7), Lucas (6), Kaia (4) and Maya (3) – as each one entered her life and visited her, even in her last days, her face lit up with joy.

Anna was born in Civitella del Tronto, Abruzzo, Italy on July 20, 1926, the fourth of seven surviving children, to Ezechiele and Giulia. It was her primary job to cook for all the sharecroppers who helped her family work and harvest their land. With a courageous spirit she immigrated to Canada in 1953 without knowing anyone here, after the hardships of the Second World War and the poverty of her upbringing. She was married, by proxy, before her arrival, to Michal, a Polish man, who had also lived through the war. They built a bustling and full life raising two children together, and were known for regularly hosting extended family gatherings and socializing with an extended community of Italian-Polish couples. Anna's gift for cooking fed everyone, including catering weddings for many years. She brought and housed many of her family members and friends from Italy to Canada, including her three youngest siblings, Ilda, Guido and Yolanda. Before and after her husband Michal passed, she was known to her neighbours as “the hub of the community” -- the person you could rely on to care for the children growing up in the area (many who stayed in touched with her as they grew up), and to produce food for you, including the best homemade pasta, lasagna (some say better than back in Italy!), tomato sauce, meatballs, sausage, cabbage rolls, focaccia, dolci (sweets, cookies, panettone and cakes) and much more . For many years of her life, her family called her Etobicoke home “the United Nations.” She housed new immigrants, foreign students and refugees, including one refugee woman from the Tiananmen Square uprising in China. Many of these tenants joined Anna's family for her legendary Christmas Eve (La Vigilia) traditional Italian seafood meals.

She was the matriarch of an extended family and her love, friendship and incredible cooking will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by everyone who knew her.

Family and friends will be received at the Ward Funeral Home, 2035 Weston Rd, Toronto M9N 1X7, on Wednesday, February 26th from 2-4 pm and 6-9 pm. A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, February 27th at 9:30 am at All Saints Roman Catholic Church, 1415 Royal York Rd, Etobicoke, ON M9P 3A7. Interment to follow at Assumption Catholic Cemetery, 6933 Tomken Rd, Mississauga, ON L5T 1N4.

The family would like to thank all the staff, nurse managers, nurses, personal support workers and residents at the Villa Forum Long Term Care Residence in Mississauga for all their support, loving care and friendship. Donations in Anna's memory are welcome to the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation and the CAMH Foundation.