BREMERMANN, Elfriede (nee Hildebrandt), June 25, 1934 to August 5, 2020

Having lived an engaged life to its fullest, Elfriede, also affectionally known to many as "Elfie" and "Oma", passed away peacefully surrounded by her close family in Oakville on August 5 ^th , 2020.    She leaves behind her son Eric and his wife Danielle, together with her cherished grandchildren Anna, Peter and Thomas, to carry on the many traditions of bringing together (often) extended family and friends.

Elfriede's profound sense of devotion to family and zest for life, as well as the determination to move forward no matter the obstacles, was undoubtedly shaped in her early years of being raised in war-torn Europe as the youngest of five siblings.    Her motto was that life is precious and giving up is just never an option to be considered, which is how she approached the support and care of her oldest son Axel (who predeceased her at the age of 41) following a MS diagnosis in his late teens, and which is also how she approached the last eighteen months of her life following her own cancer diagnosis.

While in her later years she enjoyed taking on various entrepreneurial activities, the vocation that that she would say she enjoyed most was teaching Kindergarten during her years in Germany.     She just loved kids and they loved her.   Although it has to be said that the very determined attempt to teach her grandchildren German was met with limited success, yet she never gave up on that either …

As once a newcomer to Canada (in 1961, with her husband and young son) she also understood the value of friendship and community, forming lifelong bonds in the Lutheran Church, Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, Choirs, Retired Women Teachers of Ontario (Oakville) and volunteering her time generously to various charities including the Canadian Cancer Society, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and Soup Kitchens.    The bonds formed in these endeavors would survive moves of the family between Canada and Germany.    Always up for a little fun and never afraid to try new things, her impulsive nature and great spirit would allow her to form great friendships across ages wherever life's events took her.  That also meant that she readily embraced the virtual world as it also allowed her to maintain in close contact with family and friends spread across great distances, even as she began to travel less in recent years.

Shaped by the hardships in her early life, she never lost sight of the simple pleasure of sharing a fine meal with family and friends of all generations.  A great cook, she hardly needed to follow a recipe (she would say they were all in her head … with the real special ingredients, the ones she said made the difference, only disclosed in recent weeks).   When the work was done and a ceremonial toast was had (often with a signature German Schnapps), she loved the laughter and kinship at a party, no matter the place or time.

In the last decade of her life and following the passing of her husband of 52 years, Fritz (a far more serious engineer sort), she began to enjoy the rhythm of spending the Fall and Winter in Oakville (also joining some family ski weekends in the Beaver Valley), then a month in the spring traveling to Germany to visit with friends and the families of her siblings (which predeceased her after equally long lives).   Summers were spent at her beloved place on Trout Lake, where she would start beautiful mornings raking the beach and walking bare-feet in the find sand (sometimes still in a nightgown, in keeping with her free spirit).    In this last chapter of her journey, her greatest joy came from being very close to her immediate family and watching her grandchildren, of whom she could not be more proud, grow and embrace many of her values.

Very special heartfelt thanks to Dr. Lynne Benjamin and her team, both for home care and at Ian Anderson House, for the wonderful palliative care they provided.     As well, much gratitude is owed to the very capable and caring physicians and nurses of the Credit Valley Oncology Team and Oakville Trafalgar Hospital.   The support provided by the staff and volunteers at Wellspring in Oakvillle was also much appreciated.

Absent a pandemic (then again, nothing about her life was ordinary …) Elfriede's passing would have been properly celebrated (much like her 85 ^th birthday), bringing family and friends together both in Oakville and "up North" in Christian ceremony, with a good party to follow.  Under the circumstances, a private interment will be held on August 11, 2020 at Union Cemetery (North Bay) officiated by Pastor Gerald Slote (of the Lutheran Redeemer Church), from whom Elfriede received decades of spiritual guidance.

If so desired and in lieu of flowers, Elfriede's wish was for donation (in memory of her son, Axel) to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada in the support of the cause of research.  Similarly, support of the Canadian Cancer Society , Ian Anderson House or Wellspring would be appreciated by the Bremermann family.