Nelle Parash
(née Cannon)

Anastasia (Nelle) Cannon was born on December 11th, 1921, in Hamilton, Ontario, and was the youngest of four children – and only daughter – to Zachary Kalyniuk and Anna Levko. She grew up in Hamilton’s North End, where many immigrant families settled. She enjoyed playing cowboys with her brothers Michael (b.1916), John (b.1918), and Metro (b.1919) as the ‘damsel in distress’ needing to be rescued. She attended Ukrainian language school with her siblings, and also participated in Ukrainian dancing. Growing up, her mother was very protective of her, and Metro was put in charge of watching her – chaperoning her to school dances, and making sure she was always safe. Because of this, Nelle and Metro shared a close bond in their childhood. She went to Central High School of Commerce learning secretarial skills, and worked at Otis and Stelco during WWII. She was very proud of her brothers’ service in the army, and looked up to them throughout her whole life.

Nelle was very active in Hamilton’s Ukrainian community, participating in dance troupes and choirs, and was a member of the Ukrainian Women’s Association at St. Vladimir’s Church for many years – of which her father was a founding member and helped build. It was through her involvement with organizations in Hamilton’s Ukrainian community that she met Russell Parash, upon his arrival from Ukraine after the war. They married in 1950, and their son Bryan was born in 1952. Nelle then left work to raise Bryan.

In 1959, Russell and Nelle opened Russell’s Confectionary at Fennell and Upper Gage. It was the second variety store on the ever-growing Hamilton Mountain, where Nelle and her parents helped Russell run the store until Zachary’s passing in 1965. Shortly thereafter, they had a home built on the Mountain Brow. Nelle and Russell took over hosting Orthodox Christmas each year on January 7th, with a big traditional Ukrainian feast. After selling that store, Russell soon opened many variety stores, eventually changing careers in 1973 when he ventured into automobile sales for a local dealership. Nelle returned to Stelco to work in accounting in the research department. When they both retired, they settled on the West Mountain. 

Nelle and Russell enjoyed travelling together across the U.S. and Canada, as well as in the U.K. and Ukraine. Through their travels, they managed to maintain a large social network of friends and family throughout their lives, and spent a lot of time with Nelle’s brother John and his wife Gladys, as her other brothers had settled outside of Ontario. They enjoyed entertaining, hosting many parties, barbecues, and picnics; holidays were always full of food, laughter, music, singing, and dancing.

 

After Russell’s passing on April 7th, 2000, Nelle moved to an assisted living facility. She passed away in a long-term-care home in Burlington, on November 11th, 2004 in her 83rd year. She was buried in Oakville, Ontario next to her husband.

 

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in loving memory of Nelle Parash
December 11th 1921 - November 11th 2004