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Elisabeth Margarete ‘Elma’ (von Luettichau) von Westerholt passed away peacefully at Strathcona Long Term Care in Mount Forest on April 1, 2025 in her 103rd year.
She was predeceased by her husband Karl von Westerholt, Germany and her siblings Ottilie Menzel and Job-Hannibal von Luettichau.
She will be missed by her sons Hubertus (Juliane) and Egon (Patricia) and her daughter Margot as well has her grandchildren, Anastasia, Maximilian (Allison), Alexander and Dominik.
Elma was born in Liegnitz, Germany on September 1, 1922 as the eldest of three children. She grew up on a farm in Silesia, Germany (now Poland). She attended elementary school in Ulbersdorf and middle school in Goldberg. She often told the story of having to leave the house via a milk wagon pulled by a pony to get to the train station which would take her to Goldberg.
At age 13 she was sent to a boarding school which she didn’t like, she was homesick, so the next year she and her sister were sent to a different boarding school of which she had fond memories. In 1941 she received her high school diploma.
Since it was now WWII, she had to complete labour service, work as a war aid and spend several months at a hospital in Goldberg until she was finally able to start studying medicine in Breslau. In August of 1944 she passed the medical pre-exam in Breslau. She was able to continue her studies for 5 terms, simultaneously working at a field hospital, until she had to flee from the Russians. In January of 1945 soldiers told her that that night the last train was leaving to Prague carrying patients and that she should come along. Once there she realized that Germans were not welcomed there and she decided to return home. Once back in Ulbersdorf her mother immediately sent her off again saying the Russians were coming. Several months of relocation ensued, sometimes on foot for weeks, by oxen cart, or on coal wagons. Elma would work for the Red Cross in various locations and was eventually miraculously reunited with her siblings and mother. The siblings stayed close and eventually her mother received an officer’s pension and was able to build a house in Heidelberg where she and her son and his wife lived.
Elma decided to continue her studies in Heidelberg and in 1948 passed the state and doctor exam and worked one year in pathology. At the time Anesthesiology was not an area of specialization in Germany and was often administered by nurses or untrained doctors. Elma developed an interest and went to England to study it there and upon her return would administer anesthesia during lung and heart operations. In 1954 she was offered a position to head the Anesthesiology department in Mannheim.
In 1957 she met her future husband Karl and got married in 1958. Three children ensued, Hubertus (1959), Margot (1961) and Egon (1962). She continued working on contract as an anesthesiologist for hospitals in the area till age 60.
In 1973 the family travelled to Canada on holidays and in December 1976 they immigrated to Canada. The first farm was “the old Pridham farm” where Egon and Patricia still live today. Hubertus and Egon settled here and Elma would travel back and forth between Harriston and Buerresheim (Germany) making sure the freezer was always stocked. E
lma was always interested in her son’s activities on the farm as well as keeping up with German politics. In 1996 her husband died and Elma moved to Harriston permanently. She devoted her time to her family, making lunches, sharing produce from her garden and providing, sometimes unsolicited, advice on just about everything. In 2002, at age 80, she decided to build her own house on Margaret Street South in Harriston where she lived until the end of January of this year.
The funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Wallace Township, (6174 Line 88, Gowanstown) on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. with visitation one hour prior.
Memorial donations to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Wallace Twp., or Palmerston & District Hospital Foundation would be appreciated and may be made through the Hardy-Lee Funeral Home, Harriston.
Online condolences may be left at www.hardyleefuneralhome.com
Tuesday April 1st 2025
Death notice for the town of: Harriston, Province: Ontario
death notice Dr Elisabeth Elma von Westerholt Tuesday April 1st 2025
obituaries notice Dr Elisabeth Elma von Westerholt Tuesday April 1st 2025
We offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Dr Elisabeth Elma von Westerholt Tuesday April 1st 2025 and hope that their memory may be a source of comfort during this difficult time. Your thoughts and kind words are greatly appreciated.
