WILMA OCHLODA

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WILMA OCHLODA Peacefully, on Monday, January 21, 2008, Wilma passed away at the Health Sciences Centre after courageously battling with a number of illnesses, at the age of 80 years. Wilma is survived by her husband Horst, her daughter Heidi, her son Paul, her stepdaughters Sylvana, Lolita, Franziska and Svetlana, her 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as one brother and four sisters in Germany. Wilma was born on July 2, 1927, in Quakenbrück, Germany, the oldest of 10 children. In 1953, she came to Canada with her first husband Paul Bachin and worked on a farm in Saskatchewan. In 1954 she moved with husband Paul and daughter Heidi to Winnipeg. Heidi was born in Germany in 1949, son Paul was born in Winnipeg in 1956. Wilma was always a hard working person. She worked as a waitress in many locations. In 1964, she took over the restaurant at the Occidental Hotel until 1967, when her first husband died. Wilma enjoyed the Whiteshell Park, fishing, cooking, reading and dancing. She was a member of the German Society of Winnipeg for more than 50 years, where she volunteered for Folklorama and as member of the Karnevals group at the western meetings. She also enjoyed helping out at Summerfest in Camp Neustadt, where she and her husband Horst have had a trailer for 33 years. In 1973 she met Horst Ochloda at the German Society and they got married on September 20, 1975. In 1974, Wilma took on the position of building manager for Mr. Pitch at the Bellcrest Apartments. For 33 years she handed out candy on Halloween to the children in the foyer of the block, because she always enjoyed the children in their costumes. Christmas was always a great joy for her when she cooked for the entire family. Later, when her health started to fail, and the number of grandchildren grew, everybody gathered on Boxing Day, and the younger generations helped, and especially Sylvana and her husband Peter were a great help. Wilma always thought more about others than herself and strived to do everything the proper way. Every night she prayed for everyone. Horst and Wilma were happily married for 33 years. Love and trust kept them together. It's love that makes a house a home and keeps a marriage strong. It's love that adds to happy days and helps when things go wrong. Bye, my Darling A memorial service will be held on Thursday, January 31 at 11:00 a.m. at Neil Bardal Inc., 984 Portage Ave. (Aubrey Street entrance). NEIL BARDAL INC. 949-2200 nbardal.mb.ca

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Jan 26, 2008