Thomas Bata 'a visionary', widow says

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On their way to the Shaw Festival last weekend, Thomas Bata and his wife Sonja stopped at a farm to buy organic peaches, chatted about his newly purchased iPhone and discussed their upcoming travel plans.

Even at the age of 93, Bata was extremely active and enjoyed life to the fullest, Sonja said Tuesday from her home in North York's Bridle Path area.

Unfortunately, while watching a play Saturday night, Bata was stricken with severe stomach pains.

He feared food poisoning and the couple rushed back from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.

Doctors, who determined food poisoning was not the culprit, performed surgery and found the main artery to his bowel was blocked.

However, they could not operate further.

"He was on life support and wouldn't wake up," said Sonja, who was married to her husband for 62 years.

"The family decided it made no sense to go on. He wouldn't be a normal person."

Bata lived an extraordinary life.

He was born on Sept. 17, 1914 in what was then Czechoslovakia.

His father, Tomas, had started a shoe factory in 1894, which his son took over in 1932.

However, Bata fled to Canada in 1939 on the eve of the Second World War as the Nazis attempted to spread fascism through Europe.

Once in Canada, Bata dedicated his life to ensuring his company helped people everywhere, Sonja said.

"He was a visionary as far as business as a service to society was concerned," Sonja said.

"He had a strong people orientation. It didn't matter if they worked in a factory or were prime minister. He liked them all. He had a wonderful sense of humour."

At their peak, Bata factories in Canada and around the world, including Latin America and Africa, were producing one million shoes a day.

Bata became known as the "Shoemaker to the World".

In developing countries, the factories often provided the first job and first pair of shoes to workers.

Bata loved Canada, even establishing the town of Batawa near Trenton when he first immigrated for about 100 Czech families to begin their new lives.

"He loved Canada. It was his country of choice," said Sonja, who started the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto to house more than 12,500 shoe-related artifacts.

Bata, who was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1971, was seen as a hero in his homeland.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus, a personal friend, said Bata will be missed.

"One of the greatest personalities of our time has left," he said in a statement.

"Despite ill fortune in his homeland, he managed to succeed in the world and became, for us, a symbol of business success. We will all miss him."

Sonja, who travelled the world with her husband and was instrumental in helping him in business, said Bata was an eternal optimist.

"We had such a fantastic life together. It was an exciting life, seeing progress in developing nations in particular," she said.

"He was so full of idealism. He felt nothing was impossible, you just had to work harder. He was a great believer in teams so he surrounded himself with people with ideas. (He was) active and curious and very much believing in people."

In addition to Sonja, Bata is survived by son Thomas, daughters Christine, Monica and Rosemarie, and nine grandchildren.

A funeral celebration of Bata's life is set for Friday, Sept. 5 at The Franciscan Church of St. Bonaventure, 1300 Leslie St. A reception will follow at the family's home.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to Junior Achievement of Canada, 1 Eva Rd., Ste. 218, Toronto, ON, M9C 4Z5 or to the Thomas Bata Foundation, www.batova-vila.cz.