It is with such sadness that we say farewell to our beloved mother Elsie who passed away so peacefully on January 12, 2018 at the age of 82. Elsie was a resident of Hogarth Riverview.
Elsie was the fifth child for Mike and Lena Chaba and although she lived in Atikokan, she was born on March 27th 1935 in Port Arthur Ontario. Elsie truly loved Atikokan!
She would fondly tell stories about growing up there with her sister's and brother. Elsie loved singing The Everly Brothers songs with her sister Stella while doing dishes and she sang so well! She was feisty, adventurous and loved to go to the theatre, the train station to watch the passengers get off the train and most of all , the skating rink.
It was there that she met a handsome young man with curly hair named Larry and fell in love. She said that it was such a happy fun time growing up in Atikokan and she always missed it. She married Lorenzo (Larry) Legros in October 1952 and started their big beautiful family. Elsie stayed in Atikokan raising their 7 children until 1964 and the mines closed. It was then that she and her family had to relocate to the Lakehead ( Thunder Bay) where 2 more children were added to the Legros family.
In 1977, Elsie and Larry moved their family to Castlegreen where she and Larry lived for 30 years. She made the move across town to Manion Court and then to Grandview Lodge / Hogarth.
Elsie was an amazing strong woman who lived life passionately. Her heart and soul were poured into her family. Besides raising her 8 children, she loved music and loved playing her records! From Buddy Holly to Bob Seger, Elsie loved it all. She loved the outdoors and she and Larry would spend the summers picking blueberries to sell to their favourite customers. They spent many summers at their camp at Obonga Lake with her little dog Tuffy. She loved her friends, her sauna, the garden and her trips to the dump.
She was always excited to see her grandchildren when they came to visit her at camp to go fishing. Fishing was one of her passions. She loved going fishing with her grandsons with her favourite fishing rod.When she caught that pickerel she would always say she caught a "beauty queen!" When the time came to say goodbye to Larry, the camp and Obonga Lake, Elsie focused her time on her granchildren. They were her world and she loved them all.
She loved going to the Christmas Bazaars with her daughters, playing bingo and loved making her son in laws pick up and return wall units!
Elsie is survived by her daughters Debbie (Allan) Auger, Corrine (Phil) Zizman, Cyndi (Mark) Sereda, Dianne (Gordon) Flank, sons Steve, Dale (MaryLee), daughter Charmaine (Danny)Flank, son Kelly (Lisa)Legros Grandchildren , Clifford (Jennifer), Cory (Alaine), Sean (Michelle), Amanda. Shannon (Anthony), Adam Nicole , LeeAnne, Bryan, Lisa (Adam), Samual (Brianna), Angela, Steven (Janine) , Tiina (Craig) David , Matthew and Daniel. Great Granchildren Taylor, Kyle, Iene , Carson, Autumn and Alexander She is also survived by sister's Olga Wozny, Karen Kiiskila (Richard)and sister-in-law Lucy Legros of Dryden as well as numerous nieces & nephews She is predeceased by her husband of 39 years Larry, her son Urgel, her special grandson Erik Sereda, brothers, Edward & Fred Chaba, sisters Stella Petrie and Jenny Parr, her parents Mike and Lena Chaba, father-in-law Rene Legros , mother-in-law Florence Miller, sister-in-law Claudia Sarrasin , brothers-in-law Daniel Legros, Alphie Sarrasin, Jim Wozny, Donald Parr, Jack Petrie
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday January 17, 2018 at 12:10pm at St. Agnes Church on Brown St. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the S.O.S. program at Shelter House in memory of Elsie's grandson Erik Sereda.
