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Gertrud Vogelsang
January 6, 1934 - July 28, 2015
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<div itemprop="description">Gertrud Helene Vogelsang lived a wonderful life&hellip;.one filled with joy and happiness. Gertrud was a wonder Wife (married 59 years to Hans), Mother ( Margret, Peter, Monika and Robert), Mother-in-law (Ken, Cyb&egrave;le and Margaret), Grandmother &ldquo;Omi&rdquo; ( Simon, Heidi, Kristina, Kirsten, Thomas, Natalia and William), and Great-Grandmother (Walter). She had lots of great friends and loved to entertain whenever the opportunities arose. <br /> <br />The youngest of five children, Gertrud grew up in Danzig in pre-war Germany (1945 Gdansk Poland) an area often subjected to heavy WW2 fighting close to the Russian front. She witnessed horrible things that no child should ever see. After the war, her family was temporarily interned as refugees before being relocated to Weidenbruck in the new western part of Germany. During her schooling she trained to be a seamstress and worked in a dress factory. <br /> <br />It was in Weidenbruck where she met her husband, Hans Vogelsang, a young baker. After courtship, Hans and Gertrud married and came to Canada for their honeymoon. Post-war Germany was in ruins and coming to America was a popular dream shared by many who wanted to seek out new futures. <br /> <br />Gertrud found work at Freemans Department Store (now Hudson&rsquo;s Bay) on Rideau Street as a seamstress performing alterations and Hans found work in a local bakery. Neither spoke English but picked it up quickly watching television, listening to radio, and reading newspapers. Soon arriving in Canada, Gertrud had her first child, Margret. Then came Peter, Monika, and Robert. <br /> <br />Gertrud and Hans wanted a home with a back yard for their children to grow up in and purchased their first home on Tweedsmuir Avenue in Westboro. It was a handy fixer-upper for $10K and they put their money and efforts to make it their home. Gertrud worked in many jobs while being a full-time mother. She raised her children while her husband worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. <br /> <br />There was always something great cooking in her kitchen. From German delicacies, roasts, cakes, bread, cookies, Gertrud could make anything. They had made many friends in the German community who shared similar challenges making a good life for their families in Canada. She was very proud to become of her Canadian Citizenship. <br /> <br />Gertrud&rsquo;s dream was to raise good kids who would grow up to have rich, fulfilling lives. Opportunities to get further ahead. Those dreams were realized. Our family flourished with Gertrud&rsquo;s endless love and generosity. She made Christmas absolutely magical with decorations, treats, music and laughter to warm any home. Music was a great passion and she made sure that all of her children had the opportunity to study music and would save her money to pay for lessons. <br /> <br />As a grandmother, she was the best Omi around. She always thought of her grandchildren and provided special treats and fun activities for them. Growing up can be hard but they always loved to be spoiled by Omi. The candy dish was always full. She loved children. <br /> <br />Friends found comfort in Gertrud humor and wisdom. The phone line was always busy as she could chat with her friends for hours at a time. She could whip up a cake in a minute&rsquo;s notice and loved to meet up with others. She volunteered regularly with the German Church ( St. Albertus ) women&rsquo;s&rsquo; help group for community events and functions. <br /> <br />Even in to her later years, Gertrud made many friends and loved to visit them. She was very active into her eighties until she was diagnosed with cancer in 2015. She fought a very aggressive illness and passed away July 28 at 1:30 AM in her sleep under the great care of the Elizabeth Bruyere Centre. <br />We will never forget her. Gertrud was a very special person to many people and will be greatly missed. She leaves a great legacy in the support of kindness, love, understanding, and generosity. <br />We will forever love you Mom, Omi, Great-Omi. Not a day will go by without us missing you. Your love will go on in us forever. <br /></div>