Pavo Bohinc

Retired electrician and comedic genius Pavo Bohinc died in Surrey Memorial on Sep 23, 2020, briefly and peacefully after profound illness, which he bore for a long time and with the tremendous fighting will that characterized all his life’s endeavour.

Pavo is survived by his former wives, two older brothers, and three daughters who resemble him within and without, who are bound indissolubly henceforth by the profound loss of this unforgettable man. In passing he joins his late mother and father, several uncles and an aunt.

Pavo was born in former Yugoslavia in a steel mill town called Zenica, working from an early age on the family’s farm and later studying to become and electrician. Throughout the 70s and 80s he was recognized in this role by peers and colleagues for exceptional diligence, which survives as a byword for Pavo into the 21st century. He married once in the 70s and again in the 80s, with the 90s ushering in the Yugoslav wars and his family’s consequent immigration to Canada. This was a period of struggle that in some ways never ended, though it threw into stark relief and highlighted throughout all the years his tireless commitment to his family and their future.

Learning English after the age of 40, Pavo became an exceptional bilingual wit, whose wry remarks on life will be remembered by his friends, his children, and a wide circle of their own friends, among whom he was popular and memorable to an extent rarely seen across a generation gap of such size. He was also an able craftsman in countless ways, earning the nickname ‘the Meister’ among the Yugoslavs in his youth and living up to it in our lives in Canada as well – he could fix almost any broken appliance, and volunteered countless hours doing so for various friends and acquaintances.

He was a complex individual with an intense personality, inspiring great love, great loyalty, and leaving behind a vast kaleidoscope of bitter and sweet memories in a wider circle of individuals than he would have perhaps himself supposed.

There will be a private wake organized by the family. Gratitude to the countless hospital staff who helped him through the depths of his illness.