Monika (Ferguson) Kobal

Monika Kobal (Ferguson), 76 Years old, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 26th, 2021 at the Ottawa Civic Hospital.

Born May 17th, 1944 in Linz, Austria, our mother lived a full and busy life, raising a family on her own and developing a challenging and fulfilling career as a Civil Servant; eventually retiring at a senior management level within the then, Supply & Services division at Place du Portage. After a rewarding 30 plus year career with the civil service, Mom decided to retire.

Initially taking a break and then quickly deciding to focus on her immediate surroundings, Mom then took part as an active member of her building's condominium board - initially through volunteering and other roles until ultimately stepping into the role as board President for at least one term. As in her work life, our mother was passionate about making positive changes to the building she lived in and always took a "by committee" approach to her actions; understanding how ultimately, decisions would impact everyone involved or invested. She knew the ownership and cared for them as well as the service team that supported the building. Mom's time and work over the years had made the building a better place to live!

In the last 10 to 15 years of her life, Mom started to focus more on herself, travelling quite frequently over the years and visiting many countries across Europe and Asia either alone or with many of her good friends who were happy to travel with her. She also spent more time visiting with us and doting on her grandchildren whom she loved so dearly.

One of Mom's last great triumphs was to be able to publish the manuscript of her late brother's (author John Kobal) final book which was shelved by his publisher over twenty years ago. After much back and forth, Mom was finally able to commandeer the manuscript back, identify and negotiate with a publisher, and then finally take the draft and help the publisher get it to a working copy that could be edited and formatted for the public. Knowing how publishers can sometimes over-edit or remove passages that can be critical to a writer's imprint, Mom fought to keep certain passages in the book in order to keep my uncle's voice true to the book. The end result was not just a fact based book but one with humour and passion for the subject and the industry it revolved around. For Mom, it was a huge accomplishment and labour of love.

We're very proud of our Mother; for the sacrifices she'd made for us over the years; the support she would give us through different points in our lives; and the selflessness and unconditional love that one can be lucky to have from a parent and a close friend. Mom was never one to purposely draw attention to herself; she knew too well her efforts and humbly kept them to herself. However, family and close friends of hers would like everybody else to know how wonderful she really was!

Monika is survived by her sons, David Ferguson (Donna) and Philip Ferguson, and her brother, Peter Kobal. She will also be tremendously missed by her three grandchildren, Connor, Ross, and Erin.