Gabor Domonkos

Thursday, June 30, 2022 at the age of 92. Predeceased in 2015 by his beloved wife of 60 years, Julianna Domonkos (née Török). Loving father of Gabe (Janet Roussie) and Mariann (Adham Sharara). Cherished grandfather of Erika, Evan (Jennifer) and great-grandfather of Kassie, Finny, Mina and Julian. A private family burial will be held. Friends are invited to visit the Beechwood National Memorial Centre, 280 Beechwood Ave. (east of Vanier parkway) for a reception in honour of Gabor which will be held on Friday, July 15 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. In Memoriam donations in lieu of flowers to the Elizabeth Bruyere or the Ottawa Hospital Foundation would be appreciated.

Gabor was born in Hungary where his lifelong passion for electronics began.  As a teenager during WWII, he salvaged the parts he needed from downed US bombers to build his first radio.  Little did he realize that under commmunism the mere possesion of such a radio would cost him his freedom a number of years later.  Without his family knowing of his whereabouts for 6 months or even whether he was alive, he was detained by the AVO (Hungary’s version of the KGB) and served a 14 month prison sentence.  Shortly after his release he began his compulsory military service but due to his “criminal” record, he was assigned to hard labour in a coal mine.  Even though his criminal record would continue to plague him barring his entry into post-secondary educational institutions, his passion for electronics did not wane.  By the Hungarian uprising in 1956, he was married with an infant son.  Two of his younger brothers, as many of the young generation also did, escaped from Hungary when it became evident that the revolution was failing. The exodus resulted in a huge drop in enrollment in post-secondary institutions, opening the way for registration for “less desirable” candidates and he was finally able to realize his dream of earning a degree.

In 1965 Gabor was successful in leaving Hungary illegally with his wife and two children, to join his two brothers in England.  Two years later he was hired by RCA in Montreal and was finally able to settle with his family in Chateauguay.  After a short stint with RCA, he built his career in servicing and designing medical electronics at a small start-up firm by the name of Radionics, which later moved to Scarborough.  He spent the final years of his working life at General Dynamics in Ottawa.

In retirement as before, his incredible ability and readiness to fix any and everything from cars to computers to basically anything, made him greatly appreciated by his friends, neighbors and family.  His generosity with his time and expertise, as well as his willingness to help were limitless.  His perseverance in face of so many hardships, his ability to rise to any challenge and his unrellenting thirst for education, have provided his offspring with the life we enjoy today and will forever serve as an inspiration.  

We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the Civic Hospital and the Palliative Care Unit at the Elizabeth Bruyere Hospital for the compassionate care he received in his final weeks.  In lieu of flowers, donations in memoriam to the Ottawa Hospital and/or the Bruyere Foundations would be greatly appreciated.