Jana Lazor
elevated SS17J September 14, 1960 ~ June 9, 2025
elevated SS17J Visitation
Saturday June 14, 2025 from 10:00am-12:00pm
elevated SS17J Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
211 Langstaff Road East, Thornhill, ON, L3T 3Z6
elevated SS17J Funeral Mass
Saturday June 14, 2025 at 12:00pm
elevated SS17J Chapel of St. Joseph – Holy Cross Catholic Funeral Home
elevated SS17J To view the Livestream of the Mass please click HERE
elevated SS17J Burial
Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery
8361 Yonge Street, Thornhill, ON, L3T 2C7
elevated SS17J Obituary
elevated SS17J We are saddened to announce the peaceful passing of Jana Lazor on June 9, 2025, at North York General Hospital. Jana was a devoted daughter to the late Alina and Vladimir, sister to Tomas (partner Sharon), mother to Nikki (James), Mathew, and Mark, aunt to Emma and Becca, and grandmother to Katie and Jayden. Jana will be dearly missed by Teresa (partner Steve) and Heidi (partner Timothy).
elevated SS17J She is also survived by her family in Slovakia—her aunt Miluska, Janik, Marianka, Ondrik, Matus, and Veronika, Zuzka (Vojtech), Barbara, and Jergus—and in Switzerland, her uncle Jan and his family, Roman (Catherine), Eric, Meryl, and Cassandra. Jana will be deeply missed by many friends and colleagues, whose lives she touched with her wisdom and kindness.
elevated SS17J Jana had a distinguished career in healthcare education and faculty development. A pharmacist by training, she earned multiple degrees, including a Doctor of Education specializing in healthcare and patient education. She held leadership roles at the University of Toronto, serving as Director of Faculty Development for the MD Program and contributing to curriculum innovation across all four academies. An Associate Professor in multiple faculties, she was widely recognized for her scholarship, authoring nearly 100 journal articles, receiving numerous awards, and presenting at international conferences.
elevated SS17J Beyond her professional achievements, Jana was a dedicated educator and mentor. She was deeply committed to teaching, always striving to create meaningful learning experiences for students and faculty alike. Her mentorship extended far beyond the classroom—she guided colleagues, students, and healthcare professionals with wisdom and encouragement, inspiring countless individuals to grow and succeed. Her passion for education was evident in her scholarship, her leadership, and the connections she nurtured throughout her career.
elevated SS17J To her family and friends, Jana was more than a mentor—she was a guiding light. She had a remarkable ability to sense when someone needed support, often reaching out just at the right moment. Whether you called her Mom, Mamicka, Sister, Nona, or Friend, she taught those around her the importance of showing kindness, living bravely, and never giving up. She approached life with purpose and structure, always finding a way to guide others through their own challenges with wisdom and grace.
elevated SS17J The world is a better place because of the person she was and the contributions she made in her lifetime. May her memory be a blessing.
elevated SS17J Note for Funeral Service and Visitation: If you plan to attend the funeral, we invite you to celebrate Jana’s vibrant spirit by wearing bright colours. She believed in bringing joy and warmth to those around her, and we know she would have wanted her farewell to reflect that. Following the Mass, light refreshment will be provided at the reception.
elevated SS17J In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Spinal Cord Injury Ontario https://sciontario.org/giveonce/ or Rethink Breast Cancer https://rethinkbreastcancer.com/
So sorry for your loss. Jana was a brilliant woman. She will be missed.
May Jana rest in Peace and God’s embrace.
It was such a blessing it to work with you and get to know you a bit more personally during a tough time for the strong, compassionate person, and loving mother and daughter that you were. I saw first hand your passion for health professions education – even through your hardest moments, you never stopped learning, growing, or creating – and thinking about how your experience in that moment could inform learning and improve care for people at their most vulnerable. Rest in peace and power, Jana.
Darling Jana, Our beautiful contessa and treasured friend. Life will just not be the same without your friendship, advice, caring and fun loving nature. I love you always and treasure all our wonderful moments.
Love always.
Jana you were an inspiration to many , always willing to work together on Faculty Development. Thank you .
You were an effective mentor but more importantly a kind friend . I will cherish precious memories and miss you
I’m deeply saddened by Janka ‘s passing . She had a passion for work and her work ethic was extraordinary as evidenced very early on in her rhythmic gymnastics and of course later in education . May she rest in peace. She gave it her all.
I am so sorry for your loss. Heartfelt condolences to everyone who loved and was loved by Jana.
So sorry for your loss! I pray for comfort and lasting memories for the family! Blessings to all.
Jana was an incredible person. Positivity, academic curiosity, drive, work ethic, joyfulness and kindness come to mind when thinking of her. May she rest in peace knowing she lived well and fully, loved and was loved. My deepest sympathies and love to the whole family.
I learned so much from Jana and I enjoyed every project I worked with her on in health education. I will miss her calm approach to complex problems by breaking it down into small chunks. May her memory be a blessing forever. She will be missed.
Deepest condolences to all of Jana’s family and friends. I was a colleague for the past 14 years and I just loved working with her. She was so dedicated and professional, kind and gentle. Just an absolute joy.
Jana will be missed by her peers and students, all of whom have benefitted from her wisdom and friendship. My deepest condolences to her family.
I was a student when I first met Jana in her role as a professor and later program director at UofT Pharmacy. She was a brilliant leader & educator who worked hard for the learners in the program. She was always positive, warm; supportive when we needed a boost & cheering us on when we reached a milestone. We were fortunate to know her as a shining star in our profession & to call her a friend & colleague. Rest in peace, Jana. Sincere condolences to her family.
I was deeply heartbroken to hear of Jana’s untimely passing. I had the privilege of working alongside her at the University of Toronto’s medical school, where she stood out as an exceptional educator—gracious, compassionate, and always generous with her time and wisdom. Beyond her professional excellence, Jana was a true friend, and her warmth and kindness left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her. I will miss her dearly. My heartfelt condolences go out to her family and loved ones during this profound time of loss.
Dear Janka,
Your aunt Miluška and the whole family in Slovakia are deeply saddened. We truly enjoyed chatting with you when you took over the torch from your dear mother Alinka, and during the holidays, when you and Tomík would call with your family. It always warmed our hearts to see and hear you, even from afar.
It pains us deeply to lose such a precious, beloved, and cherished soul in you. You will live on forever in our hearts and memories. Now all we can do is pray for you and wish you God’s closeness, eternal peace, and joy in heaven.
I was lucky to work with Jana over the past few years and found her incredible brilliance was only surpassed by the joy she brought to work and those around her. She was kind, compassionate and thoughtful as both a colleague and friend. I will think of her often in how she shaped both teachers and learners into caring and bright health care providers. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
I was deeply saddened to hear of Jana’s passing. We worked closely together in the early 2010s to help establish our Academy of Medicine. Jana had a keen eye for identifying areas of development and training, and she played a pivotal role helping us fostering a culture of learning and teaching among our newly appointed faculty.
I learned a great deal from her—her insights, mentorship, and unwavering collegiality left a lasting impression. Even now, as another new medical academy begins to take shape, I continue to see the impact of her contributions.
Thank you, Jana, for your support and guidance. May you rest in peace.
I am very sorry to see that Jana has passed. She was not only a wonderful leader in medical education and faculty development, but she was also a true friend. I will really miss her for her innovative thinking, her trail blazing, and her joy.
My sincere condolences to her family.
I was deeply saddened by the passing of Jana, an exemplary scholar, mentor and leader whose dedication and professionalism were second to none. As a MAM tutor, I had the honour and privilege to learn from her in the past 14 years. My sincere condolences to her family and friends. May she rest in peace.
I was fortunate to work with Jana and experience her compassion towards learners of all ethnicities. She was kind and knowledgeable. She will be missed. To her family accept my sincere condoléances.
I am incredibly saddened to hear of Jana’s passing. my condolences to her family and friends. I worked with her in the early days of teaching at MAM and I always founds her to be incredibly supportive passionate and professional. Rest in Peace Jana.
I was deeply saddened to hear of Jana’s passing. I will always remember her kindness and the support she gave me during my early years at the University of Toronto. Please accept my heartfelt condolences; my thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time.
Matt and family, I am so deeply sorry to hear of your loss. May her memory be a blessing to you always.
May her soul rest in perfect peace.
Her life and memory continues to be a blessing to the numerous lives she touched both professionally and personally.
As a Faculty member, I worked closely with Jana in the PharmD program at the UofT in the 1990’s. She was a great leader, introduced many innovations in Pharmacy Practice, and really cared about everyone- the staff, students, & patients. She will be dearly missed. The world is a better place because of Jana. May God bless her and may she rest in peace. My sincere sympathies to her family and close friends.
Jana was such a positive, warm and engaging person to work with. My sincere condolences to her family. She really was a beautiful and brilliant person at U of T. She will be missed so much.
I have fond memories of Jana and her family growing up, and am deeply saddened to hear of her passing. She was a brilliant and joyful soul. My deepest sympathies to her family and friends. Rest in peace Janka, may God keep you in His loving embrace.
Very sorry to hear that Jana had passed away. I truly enjoyed every interaction with her and valued the collaborations we had in research and clinical care. She had such energy and enthusiasm for her work and embodied the very meaning of collaborator and colleague. She will be greatly missed.
My sincere condolences to her family.
As one of the medical students in the inaugural MAM class I remember Jana’s enthusiasm for the Academy. She was also so happy and excited about medical education and teaching in Mississauga. As a staff I have also taught at the academy and this is thanks to people like Jana making it a great place to learn and teach. She will be greatly missed in the academic world and I am sure in her personal life as well. Very sad to hear of her passing and my sincerest condolences to her family.
Thank you to dear Jana for your kindness, generosity and inspiration to so many in our faculty development community and beyond. I will deeply miss our conversations and collaboration, but most of all the warmth of your presence. You were truly one of a kind and our world was brighter having you in it.
My sincerest condolences to Jana’s entire family. I was very sad to see this news. I have been teaching leadership to the first year medical students at U of T the past 10 years. Every year Jana and I prepare other physician faculty members to lead a workshop for the students, and she has always been so incredibly helpful. She has been such a pleasure to work with, and this year it wont be the same without her. The University of Toronto community and the students and faculty that she influenced will deeply miss her, and I’m grateful to have worked with her.
Dear Tominko, Nikolka, Mathew, Mark, and the whole grieving family,
We were shocked and deeply touched to receive the news of the passing into eternity of your beloved sister, mother and grandmother. She was our closest family, but also an outstanding personality and a very precious soul.
With sincere love, we join you in your sorrow and express our deepest sympathy. Unfortunately, it is not possible to be with you personally to honor her fond memory, but we are with you in spirit and we will follow the funeral through the internet.
We join you in prayers for her soul. May God help you to overcome the pain of separation. Be convinced that your dear Jana will remain with you in spirit and provide you with abundance of God’s grace and blessings. We also profoundly believe that she will receive from the Lord the reward she deserves for her exemplary life.
With love from the whole family in Switzerland.