September 16, 1931 - August 24, 2023
Alexandra was born in Montreal, Quebec. She was the eldest child of four children born to mother Mary Gorician and father Anton Gorician. At 14, she moved to Leamington, Ontario to live with her aunt Polly and uncle Dan Odovechen, who had no children but owned an onion farm at Pointe Pelee. She attended Leamington High School and graduated from there with a commercial diploma.
When not in School she worked on the farm. In later years she helped her aunt run a rooming house in Riverside, Ontario. It was there where she met the love of her life, Reinhart, who had come looking for a room to rent. Not only was he captivated by her beauty but the dinners she cooked every day smelled so good that after seven months Reinhart proposed and to his delight she accepted happily. In December Reinhart shocked his parents with the news that he was going to get married on February 15, 1958. This was the beginning of a 65 year long and loving marriage and a successful business partnership.
In 1962, Weber Tool & Mold was started in Windsor. Alexandra was still working at Chrysler Corporation in Accounts Payable and did office work for the new company in the evening. It wasn’t always an easy time. In fact, at one point Reinhart had to use Alexandra’s Chrysler salary to cover the payroll for a Weber Tool employee whose cheque had bounced.
By 1967, Weber Tool & Mold had ten employees and needed to find a larger facility for its future. Alexandra was not too keen on moving to Midland and away from her aunt and uncle and numerous good friends but she followed Reinhart and soon came to love her new home in Portage Park on beautiful Georgian Bay.
Family came next with the addition of their two sons, Carl and Rob. Parenting was a role that Alexandra cherished. Boating and cottage life became a huge part of the family fun times as they explored all of Georgian Bay. That ignited a love of being on the water in all four of them. It also became a vacation paradise for Reinhart’s nieces and nephews from Germany and business friends from around the world. Alexandra was always prepared to cook and entertain. It was the best of times.
After retirement from Weber Manufacturing, Alexandra and Reinhart took several extensive boating trips on their boat Opa’s Nickel. They travelled from Washington State along the BC coast to the Alaskan border. A highlight of the trip was a visit to the Haida Gwaii islands. They brought the boat home from Duluth, Minnesota to Midland. Their longest boat trip was from Midland to the East coast stopping in Labrador and circumnavigating Newfoundland and then back to Midland via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Trent-Severn Waterway. They enjoyed the company of good friends on all their long boating trips.
Always fun loving and adventurous and with a love of seeing new places, Alexandra and Reinhart travelled the globe together, from east to west and north to south, making many wonderful memories.
Alexandra was an avid reader and loved to garden in her spare time. She and Reinhart spent many hours playing Rummikub in their golden years, which brought out Alexandra’s competitive edge.
A very generous person, she helped out many of her relatives in the Ukraine.
She was the co-founder and a Trustee of The Weber Foundation which has benefitted many charitable organizations in the North Simcoe County area.
Alexandra’s five grandchildren were her pride and joy, and she loved her role as Oma. Always proud of their accomplishments, she was most happy when the whole family was gathered and she could make one of her famous dinners. Taking care of family was her most rewarding job.
She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Reinhart; their son Carl and his children Joel and Braelyn of Port Severn: and son Rob and his wife Michelle and their children Alora, Julia and Erika of Penetanguishene: as well as her brother Bill Gorician and his wife Theresa of Montreal and her many nieces and nephews.
Predeceased by her parents Anton and Mary Gorician, her sister Jenny and Jenny’s husband Alec Moodrey, and by her brother Peter Gorician.
Cremation has taken place and a Celebration of Life will be held at the Midland Cultural Centre on Monday, October 23 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm.
In her memory, donations to the Salvation Army Midland, 555 Dominion Avenue, P.O. Box 266, Midland ON L4R 4K8 or you can leave your donation at the Celebration of Life.
Arrangements entrusted to Nicholls Funeral Home
