With deep sorrow we announce the passing of our beloved mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law Irma Nowarre on the 29th of October, 2022. Irma passed away peacefully at the age of 85 in her home surrounded by her loving family.
Irma is predeceased by the love of her life Josef. She is survived by her three children: Paul (Genetta), Evelina (Ray), Robert (Eileen), and her four grandchildren: Stefan, Tina, Anieka, and Alexia. Irma will also be missed by her loving sister Anna and brother Willi (Elfi), both in Germany. Her new Pekingese puppy Misha, the sixth she’d owned over the years, will also be feeling her absence.
Irma was born in 1937 in Krasna, a town in the region of Bessarabia, in what was considered to be Romania at the time. When she was barely three, being of German descent, her family, along with the entire village, were forced to abandon their homes to flee the advancing Red Army. Travelling in horse-drawn covered wagons and carrying only the bare necessities, with the help of her grandparents, she travelled through Poland where they settled on a farm in Westpreußen. After a couple of years, Irma’s family was forced to move again, travelling North and West in search of safety. They lived on a farm in Mecklenberg in Northern Germany and eventually crossed the border town of Eisenach where they were repatriated into Western Germany. The family settled in Leutershausen region, now Hirschberg an der Bergstraße.
In 1944, at the age of seven, with two younger siblings, and as Germany was losing the war, her dear father, a farmer by trade, was conscripted to fight and was killed a short while after. Irma’s family survived the very difficult final months of the war, the hunger and the marauding Russian soldiers, learning to rely on themselves. With barely anything growing on the farm, her grandmother’s ability to feed the young family left an indelible impression on the young Irma. She also remembers how her grandfather built secret hiding spaces in the attic on the sides of the steep roof where Irma’s young mother and aunt would take refuge from advancing soldiers.
After the war, with the pension that Irma’s widowed mother received after her husband’s death, they were able to build a house in Leutershausen that stands to this day.
After her primary education, Irma attended a private school where she learned secretarial skills such as shorthand and typing which led to a job at an insurance company in Manheim, a considerable distance from Leutershausen.
While attending a cousin’s wedding, the eighteen-year-old Irma met her future husband Josef and the couple were married on the 13th of April, 1957.
Irma’s adventurous nature was evident to Josef early on in their relationship. She wanted to move to Vancouver, Canada where she already had relatives on her mother’s side.
On the 24th of September, 1957, the young couple set sail on the Arosa Sun. They arrived in Montreal on the 4th of October and began their four-day train journey travelling the length of Canada, falling in love with the expansive scenery and majestic rocky-mountains leading to their final destination.
They were warmly welcomed by the family, Onkel Hans and Tante Clara, and later on Onkel Peter and Tante Margaret, who opened their homes to the young couple. Both soon found jobs and started saving for a future home.
Irma’s mature and responsible nature was evident even at the tender age of 20. Dr. Rosarina D’Amico, herself an immigrant, asked Irma to be a full-time nanny to her children. The Doctor was so impressed with Irma that she sent her to driving school and gave her a personal car – a blue Fiat – to use on the weekends! Irma was always delighted to remind people that she was the first one to drive in the family! In 1962 she left her position to start her own family.
While raising her three children she continued to nurture her adventurous nature by taking the family on camping trips to the Okanagan, Jasper, Banff, Barkerville, and the United States. She drove her camper van until the very end.
Irma excelled in many areas. In addition to baking the most divine Black Forest Cakes and preparing the tastiest cabbage rolls, she was a gifted painter, gardener, seamstress, and long-time member of the Holy Family Church choir. To keep her mind sharp, she disconnected her TV-set and followed her grandchildren to an Apple store to buy her first computer!
Irma’s family remembers her first and foremost for her devotion to her Faith, her private and dignified nature, her sense of duty, and her sense of right and wrong. The values that were instilled in her growing up as a young child during the war remained with her and shaped her character. She was confident, fearless, hard-working, resilient, and loyal. She never complained nor did she dwell on the past.
Irma chose to look to the future with hope and enthusiasm, trusting herself to meet whatever came.
Prayers will be offered on Thursday, November 24, 2022 at 11:00am at Corpus Christi Parish, 6350 Nanaimo St., Vancouver, BC, where a Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated.
Interment to follow at Gardens of Gethsemani, 15694 32nd Ave., Surrey, BC.
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Irma Nowarre nee Bachmeier December 1st 1937 – October 29th 2022..
Death notice for the town of: Vancouver, Province: Colombie britanique