Elfriede Gertrud Viereck (née Nitsche), 1926–2019

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our exceptional mother Elfriede Viereck (née Nitsche). Her open spirit, grace, kindness and spontaneous humour will be missed by the entire family and by her circle of friends and neighbours.

Born in Rheydt, Germany, on December 1^st, 1926, she was fully engaged in life, music, literature and art for 92 years. She passed away peacefully on May 13th surrounded by her family.

University educated, she immigrated to Canada with her German husband, Hans Viereck in 1955 to start a new life filled with possibility. They settled in Chateauguay in 1959, creating a secure and wonderful home for their five Canadian born children.

Our mother patiently encouraged our development, sharing and nurturing all our wide-ranging adventures and experiments with a fully engaged heart. Many on the South Shore will remember her as a puppeteer who performed in children’s schools in the 60`s and 70`s, or as the Saturday morning German School teacher in Chateauguay during the 70`s and 80`s where this same enthusiasm influenced her teaching style.

Despite grieving the sudden and terrible loss of her son Christopher and her husband six days later on Christmas Day 2017, and receiving a cancer diagnosis herself the following year, she drew on deep inner reserves of strength and continued to engage with the world, her friends and especially her family with gratitude and grace.

She leaves behind her bereft children Christina, Cornelius, Claudia and Corinna, their spouses, her five grandchildren, her brother Karl-Wilhelm Nitsche of Frankfurt, Germany and a precious circle of friends and relations across Germany and in Canada.

Our Mother will be buried alongside our father Hans and our brother Christopher in the Georgetown Cemetery.

Funeral services will be held at the McGerrigle Funeral Home in Ormstown on June 15^th, 2019.

Visitation hours from 1:00-2:30 pm, followed by a service at 2:30 pm.