Obituary of Kathe Gertrud Marianne SOMMERFELD

SOMMERFELD, Katie Gertrud (nee Thümer) 1924 – 2015 Katie Sommerfeld (lovingly known as Oma) passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, on March 20, 2015 at the age of 90 at the Sagewood Manor in Strathmore, Alberta. Katie was born Käthe Gertrud Marianne Thümer in Geringswalde, Germany on June 28, 1924, daughter of Arthur Erhard and Selma Gertrud Raschig, sister to Jutta and Elke. She immigrated to Canada in 1952 and married her first husband, Paul Taube, deceased Jan. 30, 1957. She remarried on December 12, 1958 to Ernest Sommerfeld. She leaves to mourn her husband of 56 years, Ernest and her eight children, Elke (Lorne Ball), Diane (Jerry Cunningham), Stephina (Tom Pirie), Stephen; Patricia, Richard, David (Sharon), and Dixie (Kevin O’Keefe – predeceased August 31, 2010); nine grandchildren – Kathryn (Gerry Gallagher), Jennifer (Tim Paulin), Miles (Chelsea Heryford), Courtney, Jaime (Nick Smith), Kaitlin, Eric, Cassandra, Alyse; five great grandchildren, Grayson, Kayle, Mikayla, Brooke and baby Hudson. At 90 years young, Katie has been many things: daughter, wife, mother, devoted friend, Oma (grandmother), great grandmother, gardener, cook/baker (her specialties – doughnuts, pflamen kuchen and cinnamon buns), outstanding seamstress (making anything from wedding gowns to dresses, suits, baby outfits, blankets/afghans, doilies, table clothes, and millions of socks, mittens and scarves), and a generous feeder of chickens, cats, dogs, geese, turkeys, lambs, calves, and ducks. No wayfaring strangers or friends were ever turned away from her table for a meal. Katie managed the farm many times while Ernie travelled long distances for work. This included milking as many as 16 cows by hand, hauling hay and water, mending fences, shepherding livestock, and on top of this, raising 8 children. Katie volunteered many times for the Teepee Creek Stampede Association, the North Kleskun Emmaus Church (regular member), and the Teepee Creek School. Katie was an award winning swimmer in her school days and carried on throughout her life. She greatly enjoyed organizing large family gatherings, dancing, playing cards, board games, and listening to music (especially Roger Whitaker). Katie was fluent in her native German as well as English and returned many times to Germany to visit with her sisters and other relatives. In 1997, Katie and Ernie sold their farm and retired to Rockyford, where they became an active part of the community. It was rare that Katie missed any of her grandchildren’s ringette or hockey games, birthday parties and she was always known for bringing a bucket of orange slices for the boys on the hockey team. She was also active in the Rockyford Friendship Center and soon became a familiar and well-loved member of the Rockyford community. Katie was very sociable, outgoing, and compassionate. She lived her life to the fullest, making countless friends along the way. She will always be remembered and sadly missed. Heartfelt gratitude from Katie’s family to the wonderful staff at the Wheatland Lodge and Sagewood for providing such excellent care. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 2, 2015 at Lord of All Lutheran Church (112 Lakeside Blvd, Strathmore) at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made directly to the ALS Society of Canada (3000 Steeles Avenue East, Suite 200, Markham, ON., L3R 4T9 or www.als.ca/en/donate). To send condolences, please click the link below. Send Condolences