PAUK, Libuse "Liba"

Passed away peacefully in Barrie on Monday August 27, 2018 in her 82nd year. Liba was predeceased by her husband, Thomas in 2005 and by her brother Vaclav in 1994. Loving mother of Tom ( Heather) and cherished grandmother “Baba” to Andrew and Matthew. Special thanks to Dr. Rouslan Kochetkov, Dr. Hendrey Kolesky , Dr. Stewart Aitken and the nurses in the ICU at the RVH in Barrie. Liba was born in the small town of Mikulov Moravia, Czechoslovakia. She grew up during World War II and spent many days in a bomb shelter. She studied geology at Masaryk University in Brno with her future husband Thomas. They both received their Master’s degrees in geology.
In 1968 Liba, her husband and their seven year old boy fled Czechoslovakia after the Russian Invasion which saw Soviet tanks in the streets brutally crushing a peaceful popular uprising known as the Prague Spring. Liba and her family immigrated to Canada and settled in Sudbury where she taught geology at Laurentian University. She loved teaching and enjoyed working outdoors doing fieldwork with her students. As a geologist she prepared detailed geological maps of Lanark County in eastern Ontario. Liba was a strong, intelligent and fiercely independent woman who loved her family, friends and many pets and dearly cherished and adored her grandchildren who will especially miss her warm hugs. Friends will be received at the Adams Funeral Home ( 445 St. Vincent Street, Barrie) on Saturday September 1, 2018 from 1:00 pm until the time of the funeral service at 2:00 pm. As an expression of sympathy, donations may be made to Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka.