Russian soldiers took Elisabeth’s father in 1938, and the family never saw him again. They fled to Poland and Germany with the German army in 1943–44. When Elisabeth was 17, the family immigrated to Paraguay on the Charlton Monarch. In Waldhof, Elisabeth got a job cleaning a boarding house. Elisabeth and Bernhard immigrated to Canada, settling in Chilliwack, B.C., where they worked on their sponsor’s farm. Bernhard built a home in Ladner, B.C., in 1963. Elisabeth volunteered in Culloden Church’s Sunday school and ladies group. She and Bernhard served as deacons, helped the catering committee and sang in a quartet. They moved to Abbotsford, B.C., in 1991. Elisabeth sorted clothes for MCC, cooked for the community centre and served King Road’s kitchen committee. Elisabeth and Bernhard build community in their building. After Bernhard’s death, she was devastated, but through friends’ and family’s support, Elisabeth returned to playing cards and doing puzzles with her neighbours. She prayed faithfully. Mom and Oma to many outside her family, Elisabeth’s heart knew no limits.
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