Our beloved Dad and Opa slipped peacefully out of this life into the next. He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Eva (Schlutt) and all of his siblings (George, Elisabeth, Heinrich, Stefan, Daniel, Hans and Peter); he was the last of that generation. Adam will be lovingly remembered by his three children, Norbert (Vicky) Maerz, Ruth (Ron) Horst and Dorothea (Ted) Blandford; his grandchildren, Thomas Maerz, Caralynn (Eder) Portillo, Cassandra (Abhinav) Goyal, Claudia Blandford, Nathan Horst, Jonathan Horst, Stephanie Blandford, Stefan Maerz, Michael (Jessica) Horst and Paul Blandford; and his great-grandchildren Ayrton, Alessandra, Aaliyah and Adrianna Portillo, and Norah Goyal.
Adam was born in 1927 in Bikal, Hungary and spent most of his childhood on the farm in Somogyszil, Hungary. At the age of 12 he was baptised into the Christian faith and it is this faith that sustained him to the end. On December 1, 1944, the Maerz family fled to Germany when the Russians invaded Hungary, arriving in Weissenback on December 13. Adam remained in Germany until 1951, when he set sail for Canada, becoming a Canadian citizen on August 22, 1972.
In 1955 he married Eva at the McDermott Avenue Baptist Church in Winnipeg, and in 1956, following the birth of Norbert, the little family moved to Hamilton, Ontario where they joined other family members, and where Ruth and Dorothea were subsequently born. They became members of the German Baptist Church which, with their extended family, became their community. Adam was very active in the church, supervising the building of an addition to the church, serving as Sunday School teacher, Deacon and Church Moderator, as well as singing in the men’s and mixed choirs.
Adam was a man of faith and family, but also a man with a strong work ethic, and an ingrained sense of right and wrong. He had a love of story-telling, music and adventure. He had a gentle kindness. He was a craftsman and builder who shared his talents with many. And, each of his grandchildren will attest, he ensured there were always second or even third helpings of ice-cream!
At the age of 80, subtle changes began to manifest in Adam; changes which led to a dark period for Adam and Eva. Over his remaining 13 years, Adam progressively began to lose his memories – at first just recent memories, like what he’d had for breakfast, but finally even the old memories that made up the core of who he was. Yet, despite this, his sadness and confusion, he didn’t lose himself, his faith, his sense of humour, his kindness or his love of music. To the very end, his toes would tap to the sound of the music he loved – including the music that was the voice of his daughter, Ruth.
“For He has not despised or distained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from him but has listened to his cry for help.” (Psalm 22:24)
Dad, Opa – you will be missed.
With gratitude to the caring staff on Oak Lane at Wentworth Lodge, and to Hildegard Walter, Walter Schroeder and Debbie Whatmough who spent so much time with Dad. Words cannot express our appreciation for your kindness to our dad.
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