Richard Kolton
With profound sadness the family of Richard Charles Kolton, 82, announce his death on June 25, 2017 at the AGH.
He was born to Kaye and Metro Kolton on December 19, 1934 in Camp Morten, Manitoba and spent his younger years in Gimli, Manitoba. In 1955 he married Frances Babijowski in Erickson, Manitoba.
On September 16, 1955 he moved to Atikokan, Ontario where he began working at Steep Rock Iron Mines and was employed for almost 25 years until the closure of the mine. He began his career as a welder, and then transitioned into a maintenance planner before eventually supervising for the remainder of his time at Steep Rock. When the mine closed he took up a position as an instructor for Confederation College teaching welding. He taught two sessions in Atikokan and one in Fort Frances. When the teaching jobs were completed, he accepted a position at St. Pat’s School as a maintenance person. One of his favourite parts of the job was that his granddaughter Kayla was in JK at the time and called him ‘Grandpa’ and in no time at all the other children were calling him Grandpa too.
Rick was a man of many skills including welding, carpentry, and woodworking – creating handmade furniture, clocks, cedar chests, and lazy Susans. He also loved puttering in his garage, the Fit-It Club, and working in his yard, in which he took great pride. He was a great bridge player and keen competitor who loved nothing more than to get a rise out of those he played with. In his younger days he was a spirited hockey player, standing guard in net, besides also playing broom ball and baseball. He was also passionate about nature and being outdoors. His camp, which he built from the ground up, was one of his favourite place to be. He also enjoyed picking blueberries and often went out with his wife to gather the precious little berries.
Rick is survived by Fran, his wife of 62 years, his children Rick Jr. (Cathy), Lori (Michael deceased), Vince (Michele); grandchildren Jeffery (Lilliane), Kayla (Colin), Robin (Tamara), Justin (Shawn), Stephen (Ainsley), Adrienne (Robert); great-grandchildren Michel, Mathieu, Noah, Colton, Olivia and Nathan; sister Pat (Peter), brothers Bob (Arlene), Ray (Margaret), and numerous nieces and nephews.
He was pre-deceased by his parent and children Michelle, Vernon, Vaughn, and Susan.
Funeral service took place June 29 at St. Pat’s Church with Father Chinonso officiating. Burial occurred at the Atikokan cemetery. Pallbearers were his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Donations in memory of Richard may be made to the Atikokan Food Bank (P.O. Box 1747) or the Atikokan General Hospital (P.O. Box 2490).
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