Barbara Kulesza (née Oscilowski) passed away peacefully in Toronto on the morning of Friday, November 29, 2024. She was 73 years young.

Barbara immigrated to Canada from England at a young age and settled in the west end of Toronto. As a young adult, she joined a Polish Folk dance group out of St. Stanislaus Church where many lifelong friendships were born. She studied English and art in school. She had a passion for visual and performing arts becoming a patron of galleries and theatres. One of her favourite artists was Georgia O’Keefe. She had a successful career in the life insurance industry leading her to become Head Underwriter and Manager with many accreditations under her belt. Retiring at age 65, she lead a quiet and joyful life afterwards, enjoying the company of friends and family.

Barbara dedicated herself as a mother to her daughters Natalie and Krystyna. She loved her girls deeply and was extremely proud of them. Providing them everything she could, she raised them with a love for the arts, music, and of course dancing. One of her favourite things was to spend time with Natty and Kryssy, sharing stories and laughing, right until the end.

Sister to Elizabeth, Valerie (Steve), Monica (Michael), and Miguel (Mireya). Auntie to Stephanie (Paul), Sarah (Chris), Christopher, Ryan (Laura), Aida and Domenica. Great Auntie or “Auntie BB” to Charlotte, William and Isabelle, and Avery and Gavin. Mother In Law to Erich. “Pawpcia” to Stevie. Beloved friend and “Ciocia Basia” to many.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Monday, December 16, 2024 at Turner & Porter Yorke Chapel. Visitation starts at 11am followed by the Celebration of Life at 12pm. For those unable to attend in person, there will be a livestream of the celebration. A private family internment will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, Barbara requested donations be made to the Downie Wenjack Fund https://in-memory-of-barbara-kulesza.raiselysite.com/
and St. Michael’s Hospital Palliative Care Unit https://stmichaelsfoundation.com/BarbaraKulesza.

For those unable to attend the service please use the Livestream button below to watch. If you have issues with this livestream, please copy and paste the following link into your browser
https://youtube.com/live/Yb-eFuMCJwY