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WHL Giants pay tribute to Tsawwassen’s Elizabeth Toigo

Patches will be worn on jerseys to honour the passing of the longtime Delta resident

The Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants will be paying tribute to one of their greatest fans and a huge contributor to the Delta community.

Longtime local resident Elizabeth Toigo passed away Sept. 24, just a month shy of her 88th birthday.

The mother of majority team owner Ron Toigo opened the doors to her Tsawwassen home each year (up until 2020) to host the team’s annual Christmas Party. It was an event she always looked forward to and she thoroughly enjoyed following the team over the years, highlighted by the Memorial Cup win in 2007.

To honour her memory, the Giants will be wearing a commemorative “ET” patch on their jerseys to signify her many contributions to the club over the last 20 seasons. The patch was unveiled at a press conference on Wednesday at Tsawwassen Springs.

Her obituary, that was published in the Oct. 14 Optimist, recognized her extraordinary generosity as a major donor to many causes including Delta Hospital.

“She avoided the spotlight in her own way preferring to do things for others. She kept her growing family stocked with her legendary chocolate chip cookies, and, every year, made a special point of taking each of her grandchildren Christmas shopping. Christmas Day was always a special time with the extended family gathered around the enormous dining room table at her house,” the obit said.

Elizabeth married her high school sweetheart Peter Toigo in Powell River and the couple would eventually settle in Tsawwassen in 1964.

As the family grew so did Peter’s business portfolio and he established Shato Holdings, a real estate development company in 1969. He later added the White Spot restaurant chain in the early 1980s before his untimely passing in 1993, Elizabeth took over as Chair of Shato, and, under her guidance, the business continues to thrive to this day.