Mrs. Nellie Lellava, age 84 years, passed away October 25th, 2016 surrounded by the love of her daughters.
We know that our father, Jorma (“Jake”) came by in his shiny car, opened the door and said, “Nellie, come on in and we'll go to the dance”. They are together again.
Nellie was born in Dryden on July 2, 1932 to Alex and Mary Woitowicz and grew up on a farm. She loved both of her parents dearly, devoting many years to caring for her elderly mother. Nellie was the 7th of 12 children.
The loving bond between Nellie and her siblings was strong, developed through experiences such as jumping all together from the barn into the manure pile, picking blueberries then being marched to the lake to wash up and lifting bales of hay at harvest time.
Nellie attended Cairnbrogie Elementary and Dryden High School. As a young woman, she enjoyed working as a waitress at Maureen's Cafe and later at the St. Regis paper bag factory in the Dryden mill. When Nellie met Jorma, the love of her life, she asked him if she could get a ride to the Saturday night dance in Wabigoon; the dance continued and they married on July 23, 1954. They were blessed with two daughters, Valerie and Janet. Although Nellie lived in Thunder Bay, home was always Dryden. Many trips to Dryden were enjoyed over the years, most recently this summer.
Nellie was fun loving and had a sense of humour that would sneak up on you. She loved to dance, and was particularly fond of Engelbert Humperdinck. Our whole family attended one of his concerts; we watched Dad smiling as he watched Mom watching “Engee”, totally enthralled.
Mom was a hard worker. Dad would often come home for the weekend from an out-of-town construction job and, to the envy of his co-workers, find all the yard work done to perfection.
One of Mom's pet projects was recycling. She crushed all items to their smallest size and even applied this technique to her breakfast eggshells and Tim Horton's cup. Mom attended night school sewing classes.
She loved to shop for patterns at Eatons and sew clothes for herself and her girls. Mom also created beautiful rugs, cushions and clothespin bags which were given to many family members and friends. Nellie was the much loved mother of Valerie and Janet Lellava (Steven Taylor), grandma of grandcats Cinders, Snooker and Vinny, sister of Paul (Shirley) Woitowicz, Helen Woitowicz, Jessie Katcher, Jim (Sheri) Woitowicz and Pauline (Bob) Selkirk, sister-in-law of Olga Woitowicz, Helen Woitowicz, Georgina Woitowicz, Rose Lewis and Bob Beggs, and special friend of Alice Eckert and Lillian Lod. Nellie was predeceased by her husband Jorma Lellava, sister Mary Beggs and brothers Bill Woitowicz, Mike Woitowicz, Joe Woitowicz, John Woitowicz and Alex Woitowicz.
Funeral services to celebrate Nellie's life will be held in Thunder Bay on Friday, November 18th at 11:00 a.m. at Hilldale Lutheran Church, 321 Hilldale Road, officiated by Pastor Jari Lahtinen and in Dryden on Friday, November 25th at 11:00 a.m. at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, 175 Cecil Avenue, officiated by Pastor James Wood. If friends so desire, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Nellie's memory to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, T.B.R.H.S.C. ICU or Dryden Second Chance Pet Network. Mom we will miss you every day. You were not only our mother, you were our best friend. Love you much, love you more.
