Peacefully and gently, with much love and laughter, surrounded by her devoted and supportive family, Olga “Baba” Sauve passed away at Elmwood Place, London on Tuesday, February 6th, 2024 at the age of 91.
Olga (“BP”) will be forever and sadly missed, by the love of her life and best friend, Larry Arrand of 55 years, and her loving daughter Debbie and son-in-law Mike Andersen. Predeceased by her daughter Kathie Campbell (2010).
Dearest “Baba” of Erin (Josh) Pitter, Michael Andersen, Alysha Andersen, Lauren Andersen (Ryan Brown) and Alek (Maddy) Andersen. Proudest “Prababa” of Logan, Lillian, Lief, Ophelia and Brent.
Survived by her brother William (Maple) Shwetz and her sister-in-law Colleen Shwetz.
Predeceased by her sister Helen (1985) and brother-in-law Joe (2008) Nolet, her brother Ray Shwetz (2014), her infant sister Adeline Shwetz (1928), and by her parents Malanka “Molly” (1959) and Vladamir “Walter” (1978) Shwetz.
A loving “Chacha”, to Paul (Carol) Shwetz, David Nolet, Paula (David) Beckman, Peter (Kelly) Nolet, Alanna Shwetz, Laura Shwetz, Danny (Amber) Shwetz. Great-Chacha to Liam, Daniel, Madeline, Juliet, Ailan, Isaac, Haydn, Caden and Madelyn. She also leaves behind many cousins in the USA.
Olga was born and raised in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario. She attended business college in Toronto, and spent most her life in London, Ontario, raising her girls and working at London Psychiatric Hospital, where she made many lifelong friends. Through mutual friends, she met her beloved Larry, and they have spent the last 55 years happily and lovingly caring for each other. They travelled to many faraway places, creating wonderful memories. Back in the day, “BP” (for Brenda Patimkin from the 1969 movie Goodbye Columbus), was the ultimate shopper, using the classifieds bible “The Penny Saver” to sniff out bargains, making Larry spend most weekends driving near and far so she could, “shop till she dropped”. Thank goodness they didn’t have Kijiji back then!
Olga lived for her family. Her extremely generous nature, and love for babies and children, was her trade mark, and brought her so much happiness and joy, she was the ultimate Baba.
We would like to send a very sincere thank you to all of the staff at Elmwood Place, London, with special thanks to Sarah Hind for guiding us through unfamiliar territory. Thank you, Kathy from palliative care, for all the extras to make it a very personal journey. The love and attention shown to Baba was very evident, with many staff giving tearful last-minute hugs and kisses, and expressing their love for her. We could see why she referred to Elmwood as home.
Our family would like to make a special mention to Dr. James MacLean and Alicia Wocks RN, from MAiD. You provided Mom the ultimate gift of dignity for her end-of-life decision, in a beautiful, gentle and compassionate way. Her courage is a lesson to us all. From deep within our hearts, we thank you both.
Cremation has taken place. There will be a private family interment of ashes at a later date. Thank you to all my friends and co-workers at Denning’s Funeral Home for your love and support. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital would be appreciated as your expression of sympathy. Share a memory at www.forestfuneralhome.com