APRIL 11, 1955 – NOVEMBER 16, 2022
It is with heartbreaking sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Mark Rozad at the age of 67 on Wednesday November 16, 2022, after a brief battle with cancer.
He was deeply loved and will be profoundly missed by his loving partner, Nora Kennedy, daughters Kate (Jordan Cain) and Teddy (Allan Nagel), his mother Katharine, sisters Christine (Craig Johnston) and Mary Ann, brothers William (Bill) Jr. and Terry, nephews Joshua and Ethan Rozad, nieces Oksana and Brooklyn Johnston and many close friends. Predeceased by his loving father, William Rozad.
In early days, Mark served as altar boy at St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church. His first job was as a paper boy. He played accordion for a short while (“Happy Birthday” and “Camptown Races” were two of our favourites). He was the family ping pong champion. Many pucks were hit against the garage door.
Mark was a gifted athlete throughout his life. He first started with “road sports”, getting his siblings and young neighbours to play baseball (not a single window broken), football (one steamboat, two steamboat, ...), and the relatively unknown road game, Countries. The Chicago Blackhawks were a favourite team. Mark could challenge anyone to a game of sports trivia. Winner of numerous MVP awards covering a variety of sports, Mark’s sports prowess started early as an outstanding softball pitcher, where newspaper headlines such as “Rozad pitches complete game shutout” were common. In high school, he was a star of the Preston Panthers basketball team. Mark organized weekly floor hockey games for 30+ years, mostly with Preston High School alumni. He enjoyed numerous rounds of golf over many years and was able to boast about getting two holes in one. Coincidentally, one was on the very same hole that his father holed out on 21 years earlier.
Mark earned his CGA designation while working full time with a young family at home. He was the Director of Finance at Rutherford Controls (RCI) for over 20 years before retiring in 2010. Retirement didn’t last long and he was back to work with Blackhawk Services and spent the last 7 years working with BNK Transport.
Mark was a 25 year member of the Rotary Club of Cambridge Sunrise and a recipient of the Paul Harris Fellowship Award. He was passionate and actively involved in so many Rotary events throughout the years including literacy projects, the fun run, scholarship programs, and hosting trivia nights, to name a few. Mark’s greatest Rotary achievement is that he was the brainchild and driving force behind the creation of the Cambridge Rotary Ribfest. He was the co-chair of the event for the six years it was held at Riverside Park (2014-2019). He worked tirelessly throughout the years to make sure the event was successful. Mark was very proud when it was recognized as the best event in Cambridge.
Mark loved to make people laugh, was very witty, and was always ready to tell a joke or two from what seemed like his endless arsenal. He even started sending out jokes of the week by email shortly after the Covid lockdowns started, trying to keep everyone’s spirits up. He enjoyed joking and being playful with his nieces and nephews when they were young, and his sister had to tell them he was only kidding when he told wild tales with a straight face.
Mark’s father, William, always referred to Mark as a “gentleman”.
Friends and family are invited to a visitation at the Barthel Funeral Home, 566 Queenston Road, Cambridge on Sunday November 27 from 12-2 pm followed by a funeral service at 2 pm. The family kindly asks that everyone wear a face mask at this time in order to protect the vulnerable.
As an expression of sympathy, a donation to a charity of one’s choice would be appreciated.
