Obituary of Elizabeth Potok

May 7, 1956 – Jasło, Poland

February 3, 2024 – Calgary, Alberta

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Elżbieta Joanna Potok (née Ramut) on Saturday, February 3, 2024. Elżbieta passed away at home surrounded by her family after a very long and courageous battle with cancer since 2011.

Elżbieta was born on May 7, 1956, in Jasło, Poland, to her parents Władysław and Eulalia. Upon finishing grade school in Jasło, Elżbieta began her studies in the faculty of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, in October 1975, and obtained her MSc degree in October 1979. After graduation, Elżbieta worked in Katowice at the medical laboratory of the Polish Mining Group Hospital, where she remained until the end of December 1983. During one of the many train trips from her parent’s home in Jasło to her workplace in Katowice, she met her husband, Janusz. As fate would have it, Janusz settled in Canada in 1982 and asked Elżbieta to join him in Canada. After some difficulty with obtaining a passport in Poland during the communist era, Elżbieta finally joined Janusz in Calgary in 1984. She continued her work as a laboratory technician in Calgary, where all three of her and Janusz’s children were born. Content with a new life in Canada, Elżbieta continued to call Calgary her home for another 40 years.

Travel was one of Elżbieta’s passions, and she and Janusz travelled to all corners of the world, often with their children in tow; first with many camping trips in Alberta and British Columbia to explore their new home. Elżbieta learned to downhill and cross-country ski in Canada, and quickly grew to enjoy these winter activities with her husband and children. As the years went on, Elżbieta and Janusz’s travels took them further afield throughout North America and then across Europe. Trips to Africa and the Middle East were realizations of Elżbieta’s keen lifelong interest in archaeology. Alongside her husband, Elżbieta picked up cruising as a means of travel and visited all seven continents. Of all her travels, Japan, Antarctica, and the Amazon were some of her favourite places to have visited.

Elżbieta is survived by her sisters, Krystyna and Barbara; brother Wojciech; husband Janusz; three children, Olivia, Vanessa and Claudia; and four grandchildren, Ethan, Joshua, Felix and Oscar. She was predeceased by her parents; and brother Grzegorz.

Relatives and friends are invited to Prayers and Tributes at McInnis & Holloway (Heritage, 1708, 16th Avenue N, Calgary, AB) on Friday, February 9, 2024, at 8:00 p.m.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady Queen of Peace Polish Catholic Church (2111 Uxbridge Drive N.W., Calgary, AB) on Saturday, February 10, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. Graveside Service to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery.

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared and viewed with Elżbieta’s family here.

In living memory of Elżbieta Joanna Potok, a tree will be planted in the Ann & Sandy Cross Conservation Area by McInnis & Holloway Funeral Homes, Heritage, 1708 – 16th Avenue NW, Calgary, AB, T2M 0L7, Telephone: 403-299-0100.