Our beloved father, brother, and son Drazen “Dan” Boban, age 54 years passed away peacefully on March 14, 2023.
Dan was born on February 15, 1969 in Croatia. With his parents Vinko and Tonka Boban and sister Mirjana (Maryann) they moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario where his brother Jozo (Joe) was then born. Dan went to St. Ignatius where he played basketball and graduated high school. He then went on to Confederation College where he graduated with a diploma in Social Work.
He worked at Avenue 2 for a number of years after graduation. Dan also had many fond memories working as a bouncer at the Inntowner. Later, he also worked at Northern Woods and made many friends there. After the closure of Northern Woods, Dan found his passion in woodworking when he started his business, Boban’s Cabinets and Millwork.
It was also around this time that Dan met the love of his life Melissa. After getting married in 2000, Dan and Melissa went on to have four beautiful children together (Taya, Emily, Mikey, and Danny). Dan was a family man and was fiercely protective of those he loved. He could often be seen driving the kids back and forth to school and doing whatever he needed for his family. He was the best “Kiko” to all of his nieces and nephews.
Dan was very proud of the house he built from the ground up for his family. He was also very proud of his garage where he would spend time working on his business and woodworking projects. His creativity with woodworking and cabinets was admired. Many of Dan’s friends will have fond memories of visiting Dan in the garage. Dan was also an accomplished chef, always cooking up a storm for family events. He was an honest and strong-willed person who never hesitated to speak his mind.
Dan had a love of history and followed politics and world events and had a unique perspective and influence on others. His quick wit and humor kept everyone laughing. He was charismatic and his confident presence and energy always filled the room.
Dan will be sadly missed by his wife Melissa and his children Taya, Emily, Michael, and Daniel, parents Vinko and Tonka, sister Maryann and Brother Joe (Becky) along with their children Luka and Mae. Dan was also close with sister and brothers in law, Dave and Shelley Colistro (Layla, Frankie and Stella), and Justin (Michelle, Jake, Adrianna, Grace). He also leaves behind many other nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends located across Canada and Croatia.
A celebration of Dan’s life will be held in the Chapel of Harbourview Funeral Centre on Thursday, March 23, 2023 presided by Fr. Ciaran Donnelly at 11:00 a.m. Cremation will follow. Visitation for family and friend will begin one hour prior to the service.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to an education account for Dan’s children in his honor.
Rock on, Dan!
