Elsie Elizabeth (Vogt) Stobbe died Feb. 10, 2024, at the age of 96. Predeceased by her parents, Anna and David Vogt, most of her siblings, and her loving husband of more than 50 years, Helmut, she is lovingly remembered by siblings Henry (Barb), Susan (Jimmy); children Loni (Bruce), Jacquie (John) and Andrew; grandchildren, great-grandchildren, extended family, and dear friends whom she prayed for every day. Elsie was born in Borden, Sask., where she lived with her 7 siblings until her teens. At 18, she moved to the Fraser Valley, and that first summer, she met Helmut Stobbe. After they “went together” for a few years, in their words: “We reached the stage where we wanted to be together always,” and they married Sept. 3, 1949. Elsie wore many hats in their 50+ years of marriage. After years of odd jobs that took them all over B.C. and Alberta, they bought a home in Prince George where they raised their 3 children. Together, Helmut and Elsie ran the Prince George Travelodge Motel for 9 years. They built a log cabin on Purden Lake that would become their haven for many years. Elsie was always up for an adventure. Elsie and Helmut embarked on a world tour where they visited family and missionaries and served organizations and people in need. This volunteering would carry on into their retirement as they joined the Roving Volunteers in Christ’s Service to travel around North America helping where needed. Helmut and Elsie were an amazing team and truly functioned as one unit. It was a new chapter for Elsie after she lost Helmut, one that would last 20 more years. Elsie embraced this new chapter head on: she volunteered, exercised, travelled, and was able to enjoy her great-grandchildren. She was an active member in her church. You would often find Elsie in the kitchen, cooking for everyone. She became famous for her pies and homemade borscht. Serving others and the Lord was her passion, something she continued throughout her life. “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
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