Terry Nadolny

Terry Nadolny
(August 3, 1971 - January 31, 2020)

It is with great sadness that the family of Terry Nadolny inform you of her recent passing late Friday, January 31, 2020. Terry was the granddaughter of very much-loved Baba the late Ann Nadolny (Adolph, John) and the late Nana Sadie Gellatly (James). Beloved daughter of Ron (Donna) and Anne. Niece to Theresa and Don (Joanne) and much-loved cousin to Rob (Sheryl) and Cheryl (Lance). Very special aunt to Shawna and Marcus. Beloved sister of Paula (Ray), the late Laura Dawn, Daniel (Mai Lan) and Donald (Sabrina). Great aunt to Jayden. Special friend to Theresa (& Josh), Winnie (& Laurette & Laurina), Viktoria and Qushanta, all of whom played important roles in her life. Loved family friends Michelle (Eric) and their children Daniel and Alex, as well as her best buddy Fulvio (& Carmela & Maria, Nadia and Lino). Best friend to Nancy from St. Mike's Second Cup (circa 1990s). And of course, very much loved pets Snowball, The Black Cat and Ninja.

While Terry never achieved greatness in the traditional sense, she was a spirited person who inspired all who met her and even all who heard about her. She enjoyed her early summers in Wasaga with Baba taking her bicycle to the store to buy cigarettes for John, a habit she morphed into buying for herself years later. Working through her high school education at her much loved school Kohai in the 1980s where she met many good friends, (and had special teachers Sue, Gord, Simone, Wendy and the late Mary), she was able to attain some credits and travel in Europe on wonderful school trips, until kidney failure sadly took her energy. With great trepidation she endured years of dialysis with constant complications. Every summer, Lion's Dialysis Camp Dorset was a wonderful reprieve from the terrible effects of her major illness and is always remembered. This experience introduced her family to the Lake of Bays region, where they later summered for 20 years after building a cottage which Terry enjoyed and helped to plan. On a fateful day in April of 1994, she accepted a live donor family related renal transplant, which added over 25 years to her life, allowing her the freedom to travel and enjoy some semblance of a good life, though it was sometimes truncated with the ravages of her disease. Over the years, her most loved achievement was serving lunches for all the kids at her sister's school between 1997 and 2015, where generations of students enjoyed her delicious meals; that responsibility and job weighed heavily on her soul and she completed it each day with great fervour and much pride.

Unfortunately, she was struck by a car as a pedestrian while walking to the corner store in 2015 causing the trajectory of her life to shift in a completely different direction. This was the beginning of the end and caused her great duress, most especially because she lost her great desire to be active and mobile as well as independent. Over the course of the four years after the accident, Terry deteriorated very much physically, and she was tried and tested emotionally. In the end, though she fought a long, valiant and stubborn battle, and never ceased to baffle or amaze medical projections, she finally succumbed peacefully and painlessly with the great help of her long term medical team at St. Michael's Hospital (Nephrology/Transplant Unit), especially the very wise Dr. Jeffrey Zaltzman, and the MSICU team (which had unfortunately become a second home during her last six months). The Catholic Church and faith was always important to Terry, so in the last hour of her life, she received the Blessing of Last Rites by Fr. John from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto. With this last Sacrament, (the Sacraments of Penance and the Anointing of the Sick), Terry drifted peacefully and painlessly into Heaven, while holding the hand of her much loved sister.

Terry's joy for life was unmatched, even though she was tested relentlessly. She loved the finer things in life: family, laughing, independence, the cottage, and beer (Blue, Corona and Heineken, although with Nicky she would drink Canadian if he preferred). Unfortunately, she loved cigarettes, too. She also loved hockey and the Leafs and was quick to become an instant Raptors fan when they opened their franchise. A sports fanatic, she always remembered the Blue Jays, and their back-to-back double win in 1993–1994. She always loved and remembered the music of the 80s and enjoyed travelling with her family. She had a great smile, a hearty laugh, a fierce and stubborn persistence, a zest for life and a personality beyond measure. Her strength, life and valiant spirit were admired by many. The way she faced and endured the many challenges in her life — especially her health issues and the loss of her mobility and independence — was a lesson for everyone she encountered. She was very much loved by her family and friends and will never be forgotten.
In lieu of flowers, a donation to St. Michael's Hospital Foundation (directed specifically to the Kidney Transplant Unit) or Lion's Dialysis Camp Dorset would be appreciated as they were Terry's favourite charities and they both profoundly affected her life.

http://www.stmichaelsfoundation.com/ways-to-give/donate-online/

https://www.lionscampdorset.ca/visitors/donations/

Thank you to everyone who is willing to honour and remember the life of Terry Nadolny.