Obituary of Tomo Cop
The family of Tomo Cop of Lloydminster, Alberta formerly of Kelowna, beloved husband of Anna Cop, sadly announce his passing on Thursday, January 9, 2025. Tomo was 87 years of age.
The Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, January 25th at 2:00p.m. from the Yorkton Memorial Gardens Famliy Centre with Father Sathi Antony of St. Gerard's Roman Catholic Church officiating.
CLICK HERE to access the Live-Stream anytime after 1:45p.m on Saturday.
The interment will held in the Garden of Devotion, Yorkton Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the 3rd Floor Lloydminster Hospital in care of the Lloydminster Health Foundation as gifts of remembrance.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Bailey's Funeral Home with Ray Bailey as the Funeral Director.
Tomo Cop was born in Kutina, Croatia on November 26th, 1937. He was 87 years old when he passed away on January 9th, 2025 in Red Deer General Hospital, in Red Deer, Alberta. Tomo grew up in Moslovina, Croatia with his parents Ivan and Jaga, and one older sister Maria. Tomo is predeceased by both of his parents, his sister, and his son Zeljko (George) Cop. Tomo lived a long and active life, never complicating the day to day, and always having honest, good intentions.
As a child, Tomo had many chores on their farm in Croatia, his favourite being tending to their many animals. Tomo’s gentle demeanour and patience allowed him to somehow tame the meanest and wildest farm animals with ease. His favourite chore was tending to his bulls. He called them by name, and they would come bounding to him like giant puppies eager to see him and receive a pat.
At an early age, Tomo took a great interest in horticulture and gardening. He learned how to graft fruit tree branches together to create hybrids of fruit including plums, apricots, peaches, grapes and figs. Still to this day, an old apricot tree that Tomo grafted at just 14 years of age stands strong and tall and produces lovely fruit on the old property in Croatia. In more recent years, Tomo’s green thumb was evident as he tended to a number of large, thriving house plants, a variety of garden veggies, and flowers that he and Anna planted in their yard.
Tomo and his wife Anna were childhood friends and neighbours. At the ripe ages of 18 and 16, they married on February 12th, 1956. They recently celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary in 2024. Together, happily married, they had three children: Zeljko, Tomislav, and Sabina. Tomo and Anna were the epitome of true love. They laughed, they cried, they bickered, but most importantly, they loved one another more than anything else in the world. The love they had for one another was inspirational to Tomo’s family and grandchildren.
Just two short years after marrying Anna, in 1958-1960 Tomo trained and served in the Croatian army. After which, Tomo and Anna built homes and lived in both Croatia and then Germany until 1968. This was the year that Tomo, Anna, and their three children began immigrating to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Over the next several years, Tomo and Anna worked extremely hard to provide for their family and build a home in Canada for their children. They helped sponsor several relatives who also immigrated to Winnipeg from Croatia, just as they had.
Tomo and Anna purchased and renovated many homes in Winnipeg. Tomo would renovate the property using his “Golden Hands” and impeccable carpentry skills, flip the home, and sell it for a reasonable profit. He also helped many others with building garages, finishing basements, and completing other various home renovations. One of Tomo’s greatest building accomplishments took place at the St. Nicolas Tavelic Croatian Catholic Church in Winnipeg. When the priest of this church asked Tomo if he wanted any recognition for his contributions to building the outstanding church, Tomo humbly declined.
In 1981, Tomo and Anna fell in love with the climate and the beautiful landscapes of British Columbia after taking a trip there. They decided to move their family to Burnaby, BC shortly following this trip. In 2000, Tomo and Anna retired and moved to Kelowna, BC. This city truly reminded them of their home country in Croatia with its overabundance of fresh fruit, rolling hills, vineyards, and mild climate. During their time in Kelowna, Tomo and Anna would spend six months in Canada, and 6 months in Croatia where they were able to purchase Tomo’s family homestead in Croatia. They both worked tirelessly to renovate the home and the land. They planted many fruit trees and flowers on the property. It was their little piece of heaven!
In 2021, Tomo and Anna moved to Lloydminster to be closer to their daughter Sabina, and her family. When the weather was warm, Tomo and Anna would walk their new neighbourhood making friends with the neighbour children and visiting with passerbyers on their strolls.
Tomo was known as “Deda” to six Grandchildren: Anna Cymbalisty (partner is James Cymbalisty), Jason Cameron, Aaron Cop (partner is Jane Whittingham), Kandace Cook (partner to Carissa Rioch), Karly Jakubowski (partner to Arden Jakubowski), and Eric Cook (partner to Alyssa Konkin). Tomo also had three great grandchildren Aliyah and Joseph Cymbalisty (Anna & James Cymbalisty), Andrew Cop (Aaron Cop & Jane Whittingham), and Baby Jakubowski (Arden & Karly Jakubowski) due to arrive in March.
Tomo was humble, patient, and full of knowledge. He loved to share stories and make his family laugh. He enjoyed the complexities of scratching lotto tickets, the intricacies of wood working, and the simplicity of playing Solitaire on his computer after his afternoon naps. He taught his grandchildren to play chess, but never gave up a win easily. Tomo always had a “živjeli”shot of Brandy waiting for visitors. Tomo will be missed immensely. He will be remembered as a treasure, forever in his family’s hearts. May he rest in peace for eternity.
The family wishes to extend appreciation for the support, kindness, and compassion show to them during this difficult time.
