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Olga Dzatko
February 3, 1932 - December 9, 2015
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<div itemprop="description">Olga Dzatko <br /> <br /> <br />Born in Toronto on February 3, 1932 to Roman (Ray) &amp; Anne Berketa. Died peacefully, surrounded by family, at Etobicoke General Hospital on December 9, 2015. Predeceased by adored husband John Dzatko, and brother Danny Berketa. Survived by sister Janet Berketa. Much loved by children Paul Dzatko and wife Karen (n&eacute;e Williams); Martin Dzatko; Jana Benham and husband Steve. Phenomenal grandmother to Mannix Dzatko and Gage, Madison and Katja Benham. She will be sorely missed by many other relatives and a circle of close friends. <br /> <br /> <br />Olga grew up whipping cream by hand in her father&rsquo;s bakery and although she was terrific in the kitchen herself, her true calling involved the printed page. She went on to become an editor, checking facts and hunting down typos with uncontainable enthusiasm at Toronto Life and En Route magazines, as well as co-writing the Where to Get Stuff Cheap in Toronto guides and writing Free Stuff for Kids. In that endeavour, she wrote inquiries to institution after institution to see if they had freebies to offer, and she was always delighted to get an answer in the affirmative&ndash;not so much because it would help fatten her book but because she anticipated the fun that the children would have with their newfound posters or nature stickers. Olga had excellent advice for anyone doing copy-editing: start from the bottom right-hand side of the page and read backwards to catch mistakes. Otherwise, she said, the eye would glide right over them. <br /> <br /> <br />She loved literature, making a point of reading contemporary Canadian fiction and reveling in both its variety and quantity, something that hadn&rsquo;t been in evidence during her younger years. She relished going to plays and movies. She delighted in the artist, Botero. Bird-watching thrilled her. She fawned over her at times nippy sheepdogs. She travelled whenever possible, with great gusto. She studied Spanish. She was enlivened by her Ukrainian heritage, and her husband&rsquo;s Slovak traditions and music. For many years, she collected Dionne quintuplet memorabilia; her daughter, Jana, shared their birthday. In a newspaper interview several years ago, she said, &ldquo;It sparked my life. I had never collected anything before.&rdquo; <br /> <br /> <br />But anyone who knew Olga&mdash;or Ollie, as so many called her&mdash;knew that it was not acquiring memorabilia that fuelled her. It was people, particularly members of her own family. Her long marriage to the gentle, funny John was a tender affair. After his death and until her own, she would say, repeatedly, &ldquo;I miss him terribly.&rdquo; She found great joy in motherhood, both in the busy, early years and through the <br /> <br />remarkable friendships that she developed with each of her children as they moved into adulthood. Their spouses held a special place in her heart. She was an unrivalled baba, or grandmother, spending great chunks of time with her grandchildren, sharing secrets, beaming through recitals, witnessing their development with awe. She was a dear sister-in-law and aunt and friend, welcoming all to her home. Olga was a renowned hostess, preparing elaborate Christmas Eve meals for two dozen or more people, always throwing her head back to laugh when, as a standing joke, the first toast of the evening would go to her husband, John, for putting such a fine meal on the table. No small feat, she made the lightest perogies and the most addictive Christmas candy. <br /> <br /> <br />Olga Dzatko was, in a word, vivacious. Not coincidentally, she was also stubborn as all get-out. And also generous with friends and family. She supported Doctors Without Borders. She also donated some of her artifacts to the Dionne Quints Museum in North Bay. She summed up her years of being a collector this way: &ldquo;It has been an astonishing adventure.&rdquo; You&rsquo;d almost think she was summarizing her own existence. For certain, you can picture her head tilting back with that laugh of hers. <br /> <br /> <br />A celebration of the life of Olga Dzatko will take place on Friday December 18, 2015 from 2-4 pm at The Simple Alternative, 1535 South Gateway Road, Mississauga. Donations in her name may be made to Doctors Without Borders. <br /></div>