In memory of

Victoria Thomas

December 20, 1933 -  February 22, 2024

The family of Victoria Thomas is deeply saddened to announce her passing on Thursday, February 22, 2024.

Victoria was born in Northern Iraq and grew up in Basra, Iraq. Victoria was married in 1953 to Abdul Messih "Tom" Thomas and traveled shortly afterwards to the United States to be with her husband while he was studying to become an engineer. In 1967, Victoria with her family immigrated to Canada where she raised her six children.

Victoria was quite accomplished. Victoria was fluent in four languages: Aramaic-Chaldean, Arabic, French and English. She was an amazing cook and seamstress. She loved to garden and go on long walks in the community. Anyone who entered her home was welcomed and fed and treated with love as if they were her own family.

Victoria lived in Ajax since 1969 and was a proud parishioner and building supporter of St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic Parish and Good Shepherd Chaldean Cathedral in North York.

Victoria was very happy to have celebrated her 90th birthday with her family in December. Victoria passed peacefully in hospital, surrounded by family.

She is predeceased by her husband, Tom, of 43 years; her brothers Paulis and Tawfiq Shano; and son-in-law, William Levine. She is survived by her six children: Roy, Helen, Rex (Catherine), Rhonda (Patrick), Linda (Ron), and Joyce (William). As well as her nine grandchildren: Logan, Michael, Christina, Victoria, Valerie (David), Michelle, Peter, Hailey, and Luke. She also had two great-grandchildren: Atlas and Evelyn.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honour of Victoria to Diabetes Canada.

A Celebration of Life Reception will be held on Monday, March 4, 2024 at 1:00 pm at Deer Creek Club House

Located at 2700 Audley Road North
Ajax, ON
L1Z 1T7
t: (905) 427-7737
https://www.mydeercreek.com/

Guestbook 

(5 of 6)

Ron Parrett (Son in law)

Entered February 25, 2024 from Pickering

Victoria was truly the matriarch of the family. Her presence and love in the family will forever be missed. If you ever visited Victoria you soon discovered how hospitable host she was. When I looked at pictures of her at her home food was always in the picture. It was impossible hard to leave her place hungry. Even Bandit my dog knew that he was going to fed when he visited.

Michael Francis (Friend)

Entered February 26, 2024 from Oshawa

Deepest sympathies to your family.

Monika Moravan (Friend)

Entered February 26, 2024 from Toronto

Dearest Roy, Helen, Rex, Rhonda, Linda, Joyce and families

I send my deepest condolences on the loss of your Mother and Matriarch, our Auntie Victoria. My family recently celebrated 60 years in Canada, something that may well not have happened without her. In the early 60s a woman arrived in Northern Iraq from behind the Iron Curtain with three toddlers in tow, following after her husband who had arrived a few months earlier to work at the Dibis power plant. She soon met another woman with little ones round the same age whose husband also worked at the plant. And so began a connection between two families that spanned three continents and seven decades. My Mum never mentioned her time in Iraq without crediting the kindness of Auntie Victoria and Uncle Tommy for helping adjust. I didn’t come along until our families were well settled in Canada but know those stories all too well. Auntie Victoria, ever practical, telling her how to deal with scorpions in the house, making coffee and rice the local way, where to shop, how to read numbers and letters, how to pick out a ripe watermelon, drinking strong, hot sweet tea before a long journey…the types of little things friends share to help one another. Because six kids of her own wasn’t chaotic enough, Auntie Victoria warmly welcomed the five Moravan kids to her home for family visits, where I was enthralled my two things: her beautiful embroidered velvet and how she never seemed to have a hair out of place! When our full families got together it was nothing to wolf down dozens of doughnuts and countless platters of food, all made without complaint. But the truest measure of how important she was came one day when little me was misbehaving at home and she punished me. “You can’t do that! You’re not my Mum.” My Mum simply said, “You do what Auntie Victoria says!” Doing what she said, starting with Iraq in the early 1960s made life a little easier, and made many memories. May those memories bring you some comfort and blessings in between the tears.

"In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God."

Roy Thomas (Son)

Entered February 28, 2024 from Ajax

Throughout my life, she was a heavenly mother, an inspiration and a guiding light. She is eternally not forgotten.

Ayad albanna (Cousin)

Entered February 29, 2024

I am deeply sorry for our loss auntie Victoria and your cousins . Please Accept my condolences, and to her to be rest in peace, Ayad.

Photos 

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