Elizabeth (Liz) Joan Kukko (Sterns), loving mother, sister, daughter, and friend left us to join her husband Thomas (Tom) on February 26, 2021. Liz passed away peacefully at St. Joseph’s Hospice in Thunder Bay with her daughters Jessica and Sara by her side after a short but valiant battle with cancer.
Liz was born in Marathon, Ontario on April 8, 1947. She was the third baby born in the town of Marathon. She attended elementary and high school there and was active in local clubs including figure skating. After graduating high school, she trained at St. Joseph’s School of Nursing, graduating in 1969.
After graduation, she met the love of her life Tom Kukko and they settled in Thunder Bay. She went on to practice nursing at St. Joseph’s General Hospital, the Port Arthur General Hospital and finally at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre until her retirement in 2016.
Liz is survived by her daughters Jessica and Sara (Jeff) and her grandson TJ of Calgary, brother John (Christie) of Mississauga and their daughters Rebecca and Danielle, sister Mary (Wayne) and her son James (Cassandra), brother-in-law Doug (Sheila) and their children Tim (Janet), Karen, and Jen (Deron), sister-in-law Barb Kukko and her children Brad and Suzanne (Dorrie), and numerous grand-nieces and grand-nephews. She also held Clara Nykorchuk and her family dear.
She was predeceased by her husband Tom, a daughter at birth, her mother Margaret and father Sewall, her brother Paul, her mother-in-law Clara and father in-law Toivo, and her brother-in-law Barry.
Liz will be remembered for her smile, laughter, and warm personality. She loved her social life and spent time with many dear friends and family playing golf, fishing, walking around her beloved Boulevard Lake, and travelling to Grand Marais while shopping for all things ‘antique’. She travelled to Europe, Mexico, and made many trips out to Calgary and Banff to visit her “Little Liebchen” TJ who was the light of her life. She will be dearly missed.
A private family gathering will take place later. The family respectfully requests that all expressions of sympathy and memorials be directed to the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation
