Donald Eugene Oja

DONALD OJA Obituary
DONALD EUGENE OJA
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Donald (Donny), a loving husband, father, son, son-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle, cousin and friend. After a long and courageous battle with cancer, he passed away peacefully with his family by his side at the age of 56.

Born in Fort William, Ontario, and raised in Nipigon, he attended Greenmantle Public School and George O'Neill Public School where lifelong friendships began and grew through their mutual love of hockey. Donny started playing organized hockey at the age of 5 and it soon became apparent he inherited his father's ability on the ice. He received many personal awards over the years which recognized his athleticism and skill for the game.

He attended Nipigon-Red Rock District Highschool and pursued his postsecondary education at Confederation College where he earned a Diploma in Instrumentation and a Diploma in Electronics, First Class Standing. While studying at Confederation, Donny was often sought out by fellow classmates to provide help with math work in particular, a subject in which he excelled.

The family camp at Polly Lake was a big part of his life. Summers were spent there where he enjoyed swimming, exploring the outdoors, dirt bike riding and steam baths. Camp was his second home. Sauna time was ceremony to him where he could relax and recharge.

Donald loved to fish for pickerel and got to know many lakes around the Lake Nipigon and Polly Lake regions including Fraser, Postagoni, Jean, Leopard, Margaret, and Beady.

The Fall was an important time for him because it was moose hunting time. He loved to track and call moose and became skilled at both with his time spent in the bush honing his skills. Hunting made him feel connected to the land. He enjoyed his early morning tracking trips in the bush and hunting with his best friend, Slim.

At the age of 13, he got his very first part time job as a student working at Zechners to earn and save up enough money to buy his very first motorbike, and he was hooked. His love for riding continued into adulthood with street bikes. He was self-taught in bike maintenance and could troubleshoot what needed to be fixed.

Donald worked at the Nipigon Plywood Mill in many positions before returning to College. After graduating from Confederation College, he immediately secured a job with TransCanada PipeLines as a Controls Technician working at compressor stations located in Jellicoe, Geraldton and the Klotz Lake areas. His final place of employment was with the Thunder Bay International Airport Authority where he spent over a decade working as a Facilities Maintenance Technician.

He is predeceased by his mother Delvina (Della) Oja, and will be sadly missed and lovingly remembered by his wife Jennifer (of 24 years), his children, Meghan and Matthew, his Dad, Donald Sr., in-laws Barbara and Wayne Bellamy, sister-in-law, Candice Work (& Tim Bugler), nephew Hayden Work and niece Keilly Work, along with many family members and friends.

We would like to thank numerous staff at the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital for their care and compassion over the last year and half including Dr. Al-Katari, Dr. Dykstra, the Nurses on 1A and 2C and the many Emerg Doctors on his emergency visits. The care he received at the Ottawa General Hospital where he spent one month following his procedure was outstanding.

Thank you to his work family at the Thunder Bay Airport for the many phone calls and texts to do regular check-ins with him as he went through his treatments.

A Celebration of Life will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at the Harbourview Funeral Centre with a reception from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and words of tribute at 2:00 p.m. The tributes will be livestreamed and archived at www.harbourviewfuneral.ca where condolences may be offered as well. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Donald's memory to Shelter House, Thunder Bay (www.shelterhouse.on.ca).

Published by The Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal on Aug. 12, 2023.