Ivan Orbanic
elevated EtKtd October 8, 1937 ~ November 3, 2023
elevated EtKtd Visitation
Thursday, November 9, 2023 from 2 – 4 & 6 – 8 p.m.
Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 3Z6
elevated EtKtd Funeral Service
Friday, November 10, 2023at 10:30 a.m.
Chapel of St. Joseph at Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, Ontario, L3T 3Z6
elevated EtKtd Interment
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery Section 40
elevated EtKtd Obituary
With profound sadness, the family of Ivan Orbanic announce his sudden death on November 3, 2023. Beloved husband, father and Nono, Ivan will be missed by family and friends in Istria and England.
elevated EtKtd Born in 1937, Ivan emigrated from the former Yugoslavia to Canada in 1960, settling first in Montreal and later in Toronto where he met and married Jennifer Bamforth, welcomed son Martin and daughter Emma-Jane, and, eventually, grandsons Luca, Jack, Jace and Benjamin.
elevated EtKtd Father-in-law to Jennifer Posthumus and Urbano Ciccarelli, step-Nono to Paige and Nicholas. Ivan is survived by his brother Germano and sister Milka in Istria. What a blessing that he visited them and their families just last month. Dog-father to Max and Charlie, beloved friend, neighbour and local Mr. Fix-It, Ivan was always ready and willing to lend a helping hand in exchange for a coffee spiked with rum or rakija.
elevated EtKtd No words can express how much you will be missed, dear Ivan, nor how long it will take us to clear out your garage.Â
elevated EtKtd Laku noć, Nono.Â
elevated EtKtd The family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses in the Stroke Unit at Toronto Western Hospital for their outstanding care and compassion.
elevated EtKtd In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Heart & Stroke foundation in honour of Ivan.Â
My condolences to Ivan’s family and long list of friends. He was an amazing man who I have had the pleasure of knowing for 50 years. He always had a smile on his face, was always eager to lend anyone a helping hand for anything large or small, and was willing to participate in any comedy and jokes. He enjoyed working on his antique car with his son and his impressive garden growing anything even figs. He had constant battles with the racoons and squirrels who attacked his grapes, vegetables etc. He fortified his garden with metal ducts so the racoons could not climb to his overhanging grape vineyard. Humane traps were set but he succeeded in only trapping
his dog Max. He made great walnut grappa and always offered you a drink as was his European heritage. Our memory of Ivan will keep him alive in our thoughts and heart. Rest in peace good friend.
We are profoundly saddened to learn that Ivan has left this earth.
Our deep condolences to the entire family.
We have many great memories growing up with the Orbanic family, and Ivan continued to keep the connection with our family long after we all moved away.
He will be missed.
Much love from Heidi and Jim Sasha and Thomas
Jennifer, Martin, Emma-Jane,
The news of Ivan’s passing was overwhelming. I have only thoughts for you and everyone who loved him.
Ivan was a formidable man who loved life and loved his family even more. I will miss him.
My deepest deepest condolences to you all. While I did not spend a lot of time with Ivan I have wonderful memories of his wit and infectious humour. May he rest in peace.
Jennifer, Martin and Emma:
Our deepest condolences to you all on the passing of Ivan. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this time of sorrow. Ivan was such a friendly and pleasant person to talk to when we saw him at the parties and picnics at Istrian Garden. Ivan will be deeply missed. May you cherish all the beautiful memories of Ivan, and let these memories bring you all much strength and courage. Ivan May you Rest in Peace. Milivoj and Josie Benic 🙏🏾🙏🏾❤️❤️
Our deepest condolences as you grieve this profound loss. We have such fond memories of Ivan during the time when Jennifer took care of our son Samuel when he was a baby. Ivan always had a wide grin and playful generous spirit with Sam and with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with you Jennifer, Martin and Emma-Jane, and with the entire family.
With love,
Wynne, John & Sam
November 3 is a sad day for many of us.
Ivan was many things to many people.
He had a significant impact on my family.
He was a valued friend and mentor for many years.
I send my heartfelt condolences to you – Jennifer, Martin and Emma-Jane.
May your grief load be lightened by the multitude of friends who care.
God bless his soul, what a wonderful and kind man he was, sure he’ll be missed rest in peace
Jennifer and family, please accept my condolences and deepest sympathy. Ivan has been a wonderful husband, father and Nono. He will be missed by all who knew him.
Mrs Orbanic, Martin and Emma, our deepest sympathy on the passing of Mr Orbanic. From the days at St Christopher continued to St Leonards he was forever smiling and pleasant upon meeting. He also had a great sense of humour. I am sure that he will be dearly missed but he will be kept alive by the many wonderful memories that you all shared especially with the grandkids. Thoughts and prayers are with you all. May he rest in peace. The Katchays
Our deepest condolences to Jennifer and family as we mourn the loss of our very dear friend. We have lots of happy memories of sharing many stories with Ivan of our lives and friends in Istria. His visits to Istria over the years kept us in touch with our loved ones as he always took time to visit our families and even bring back that great homemade rakija. We always enjoyed his unexpected visits when he was in our neighbourhood. Our thoughts and prayers from Vinko, Laura and the Jelenic and Giancola family
Jennifer, Emma, Martin and all the Orbanic family. (Charlie too) Expressions of grief are such a personal and soul searching journey. The past few months have brought such heartbreak to our families. Ivans’ sudden passing was such a shock, it literally left us breathless and heartbroken.
He was truly a remarkable man and loyal friend to so many , both here and overseas, Our memories must sustain us now for he has shaken his earthly shackles to go and play with Mikey. I can’t imagine the mischief those two will get into.I’m comforted in knowing they are not alone. To say his smile, his humour and very presence will be missed ,is an understatement. He was so believed by so many. We will carry him in our hearts and hopefully, someday , we will see him again. For now, we will give our support, love and strength to his devoted family .Rest in Peace “Uncle Mario” ❤️
My deepest condolences to Jennifer and family. There are many things I will miss about Ivan…popping in to visit , sharing his herbs from the garden and tomato sauce making in the summer. Somehow Ivan made hard work fun. It was a pleasure to know Ivan and I will miss him.
Dear Jennifer and family,
Shocked and saddened by the loss of long-time friend and good neighbour . Ivan was one-of-a-kind, an amazing individual. I admit to kidding him about that wonderful glory-hole of a garage. I guess it was both admiration and envy.
My late husband Ted and I lived on a nearby street. Whenever we saw Ivan, and usually Max, he always had a smile and a friendly greeting. My deepest sympathies to Jennifer and family.
My sincere condolences Emma to you and your family. May your dear father rest gently 🙏
Ivan was a man well loved and full of love. What a beautiful way to have lived. May his memory be a blessing.
I was deeply saddened to hear of your sudden loss. Losing someone we love is never easy and heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time.
Martin and family, we are so sorry to hear of Ivan’s sudden passing. I always loved hearing stories about him lending a helping hand or his latest project. You are all in our thoughts during this difficult time.
Dearest jennifer, Twelve years ago we moved into the neighbourhood with our beautiful dog Bogey. On the second day we went for a walk and this very handsome and charming man stopped to talk. He was riding a bike and in the basket was the cutest little dachshund named Max! We did introductions and I discovered his name was Ivan. They often say the rest is history but for 12 years our walks and talks and laughs brought me joy and like so many he inspired me to get off the sofa and get out and get busy. However big his self esteem may have been before he met me, it grew considerably over the years with my endless comments about his fantastic hair, no wrinkles, those teeth and so fit!! He loved it and he knew I knew he did. When he told me he went to Croatia with his son in law I was surprised but after sharing some stories I realized he loved him like a son and the feeling of love was mutual. He said they talked every day and it brought him so much joy. In this day and age it is so nice to hear about families that love each other and have such respect and support for one another. And jennifer, you are the icing on that family cake. You always make time to talk to me on our dog walks and we share so much about our love of volunteering. Then there was the day we were talking about your upcoming birthday and that was when I discovered you had married a younger man and I never stopped having fun working you about that! My heart breaks for you and your family and Charlie his unexpected friend. This isn’t fair but on the other hand, how lucky you all were to have had this time together. I wish you comfort in the memories and the memories will live as long as you take a moment every day to tell and share an Ivan story. Ivan forever remembered. Vivien and Tripp
We were very sorry to hear of Ivan’s passing and send our deepest sympathies. I always enjoyed chatting with him while he was out walking max around the neighborhood. He will be missed.
Jennifer and Martin, I am so sorry to hear about your Dad’s sudden passing. I’d never met Ivan, but remember the fondness with which you Jennifer, told stories of your family gatherings and the thoughtful things Ivan did, like making you a ring out of a silver heirloom teaspoon!
Take care of each other and I hope memories of Ivan will bring you peace and happiness
My sincerest sympathy to the family for your sudden loss. Losing a beloved family member is never easy, may his memory be eternal.
Dear Jennifer, our family was so sad to hear the news of Ivan’s passing. From the early days when we first moved to Kirkton back in 2007 to when we moved in 2019, he was like a surrogate grandfather to our 3 boys as they spent much of their childhood on Kirkton. He always had a smile on his face, and especially delighted in his dogs Max and Charlie, and talking with the boys while letting them pet his dogs. He was very intentional with the boys and I will never forget that. I also appreciated his help over the years with projects around our house; he was always so willing to offer advice or lend a helping hand. I know how loved he was by his family and friends; much love and condolences to you and the family.
Ivan was an amazing friend to my parents and myself; he was always there to help or to offer a word of encouragement or just too laugh; what an amazing person!!! He will be missed in the neighbourhood and we want to offer our condolences to the whole family
It was always a pleasure to meet Ivan on his walks and catch up with news in the neighbourhood or a good word on life. We will miss him as I’m sure countless others will for the small or large impact that he has had on our lives. We are very sorry for your loss and know what a hole in your hearts he will leave.
John 3:16❤️
Peace be to you Orbanic family.
May each of you be comforted at this time and especially when the absence of Ivan’s presence causes you to pause. Death is a strangeness that can be difficult to navigate around and through and even challenging to accept. Your period of grieving is on your own timeline. Take each day as it appears.
GOD bless you.
Praying for & with you…
Love,
D!ONNE Renée
My belated condolences to Martin, Emma-Jane & their families.
Ivan was one of my boyhood role models as I was growing up in North York. I remember him as a bright, energetic, hardworking man with a great sense of humour. Ivan was an amazing tinkerer & mechanic who could fix ALMOST anything. He kept me, Martin & many of our neighbourhood friends “rolling along” on our bicycles, thanks to his frequent tune-ups & repairs.
His backyard vegetable garden was a wonder to behold. My dad, Ross, still raves about Ivan’s infamous home-made dandelion wine.
I’m grateful to have known him. RIP, Ivan.
Sincere condolences to Ivan’s family.
You don’t know me but I met Ivan in Montreal many years ago. He lived here in Montreal for a little while before leaving for Toronto.
After reading the comments from his friends in Toronto, I completely agree with them about the nice qualities that Ivan had.