Sonja Bata (third from left) at a recent event in Batawa. MP Neil Ellis is to her right.
An iconic businesswoman and community builder, known nationally and locally, has passed away.
Sonja Bata, founder of the Batawa Development Corporation, and wife of the late Thomas Bata, heir
to a worldwide footwear manufacturing empire, died Tuesday evening in a Toronto hospital surrounded by family and friends.
Sonja Bata is well known in the Quinte region and had spent the last 13 years planning the redevelopment of Batawa, the hamlet created by the Bata Shoe Company in 1939.
She was also the founder of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto and was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1983.
She was an Honourary Naval Captain for many years, and was involved with The National Design Council, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Council for Business and Arts in Canada, and Junior Achievement.
Sonja Bata was 91 and is survived by four children, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
