Antonin Svoboda

May 5, 1946 -February 23, 2026

Telc, Czechoslovakia

In the evening of February 23, 2026, Antonin “Tony” Svoboda drew his last breath. Antonin “Tony” was born a few years before the communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948. Undaunted by an oppressive political system, Tony nevertheless found joy and humour in an otherwise unforgiving place. Likely due to his appreciation for the Czech writer, Jaroslav Hasek, whose satirical novels were a lifelong inspiration for him. As a young man he worked on canal boats sailing from Prague to Hamburg. As well he performed mandatory military duty for the Czech army. The stories were “Svejkesque”! During the turbulent uprising in 1968 against the communist regime, Tony escaped to Vienna where he stayed briefly until he was able to emigrate to Canada.

Initially he settled in Chatham where he was welcomed by a burgeoning Slavic community. As time passed he later moved to Windsor for employment opportunities before settling in Sarnia. In Sarnia, he found his Canadian home. He worked on fuel ships delivering fuel from Imperial Oil throughout the Great Lakes as well as the East Coast as far north as the northern tip of Labrador – the stories are epic! His enjoyment of being on the lakes led him to discover his most favourite hobby, sailing. Tony bought a sailboat and became a member of the Sarnia Yacht Club where he kept his boat for many decades. In typical devilish humour, Tony named his boat “Bad Czech”. Sailing satisfied his desire for relaxation as well as his love of fixing everything. There wasn’t a mechanical issue that went unsolved. As his sailing days began to wane, Tony began visiting his beloved Telc connecting with his large extended family, as well as renewing his special relationship with his long-lost love, Libuska.

Tony is survived by his daughter, Monica Svoboda (Daniel), as well as his brothers, Jan, Zdeněk, and Jaroslav, and their families. A special thank you to Zdenka and Jaroslava for travelling from Czechia to be with Tony in his final days.

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