Gerda passed away peacefully on Thursday November 15th , at the age of 92 in Vancouver BC. She was born near Dusseldorf Germany just prior to the Great Depression. She played the role of matriarch to her ill mother, her twin sisters (Else & Rose) 9 years her junior as well as her sister Renate, 15 years her junior. Driven with tremendous hard work ethics and the love for her family she took on various jobs to put food on the table. She started out as a hairdresser in Dusseldorf during the latter part of WW2 and then onto various other jobs at Bayer for a number of years until she started her own family. She loved to sing and play the accordion when she was younger and later spent endless hours playing cards with her husband, family and friends.
The next chapter of their life brought them to Canada during Canada’s Centennial Year. Here she took on numerous office cleaning jobs and eventually turned to being a building manager which she enjoyed tremendously. Gerda bridged the gap between her days/experiences in Germany and Canada with her lively stories, but she will be forever remembered for those amazing mouth watering meals like sauerbraten or beef rouladen with mash potatos lots of gravy and red cabbage, potato pancakes, buttercream torte and lemon Bundt cake, to name a few.
Loved ones that cleared the path for Gerda are her husband Josef, her granddaughter Michelle(Dan/Madelaine) and her grandson Raphael(Clarissa/Hans) survived by Frank. Loved ones that will miss Gerda until they meet again are her daughter Clarissa(Hans), granddaughter Natasha(Klaus), great grandson Timo and son Dan(Madelaine), granddaughter Danielle and great granddaughter Carmynn as well as her sisters Else(Werner), Rose(Eberhardt) and Renate(Werner) along with the many nieces and nephews.
Special thanks to the care givers at Fair Haven in the final chapter of her life. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the BC Childrens Hospital or a charity of your choice.