Mrs. Karoline Klein

June 1, 1921 – January 6, 2022

Karoline Klein, our mother, made it to the wonderful age of 100 years and 7 months, dying peacefully on January 6, 2022, at George Derby Centre in Burnaby. She was predeceased by her husband Otto; her son, Helmut; and her sons-in-law, Arthur Abt and Peter Bowie. She is survived by her daughters Hildegard Abt, Traudy Klein, Erika Krolman (Ranald), and Monika Klein (Dennis Combs); her sons Hank Klein (Marion), Eric Klein (Sue), and Alfred Klein (Brenda); daughter-in-law Linda Klein; 13 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren.

She was born to Elisabeth and Jacob Rink in Letnia, which was then in Poland but is now in Ukraine, on June 1, 1921. Her early years included completing eight years of education and enjoying the comfort that comes with a large family, but also a hard life of working on the family farm and the tragedy of losing four siblings, three of them to typhus, when she was 18. In 1942, she married Otto Klein and two years later was among the thousands of ethnic Germans fleeing Poland, from which they’d been expelled. Only 23 years old, with Russian soldiers bearing down on her and other refugees, she drove a horse-drawn wagon with her mother and her two children, Hildegard and Hank. They made it to Germany and for years lived in camps, finally finding housing in a schoolhouse in Oberhonnefeld in the Rhineland. In 1951 the family, now with three more children, immigrated to Canada – Winnipeg, specifically, first living in Weston and later in the North End. Three more children arrived – making eight: four boys and four girls. Life for Mum was full: she had her thriving vegetable garden and indoor plants; cooking (perogies, holubchi, borscht, goulash) and baking (Dickenkuchen, Marmorkuchen, Berliner); preserving and pickling; budgeting to meet the costs of everything; socializing with relatives and friends, including neighbours with whom she could speak Ukrainian, her second language; cheering on her favourite wrestlers on TV; keeping up with and buying 78s of the latest German pop music hits (“Schlager”); and interesting herself in politics via newspapers and TV. (Mum even voted in last September’s federal election.) In 1979, she and Dad left behind the mosquitoes and harsh cold of “Winterpeg” and moved to New Westminster. An added draw, of course, was that four of their children were already living in the Lower Mainland. Mum loved the beauty of her new surroundings, and often said the bus trips around B.C. organized by Century House in New West were her best times. She was always ready for the new, the never before seen or tried. Would we have known about Tomato Soup Cake (delicious!) if she hadn’t given it a try?

We thank everyone at George Derby for their care and attention to our mother in her last days. Before moving to George Derby three years ago, she spent nearly a decade at Victoria Heights Assisted Living. Despite no longer having her mobility, she enjoyed these years because of the friendly residents and staff and her beautiful room and view.

Mum was a lively, hard-working, determined, independent-minded, dignified, charming woman, who, above all, loved her family. We are so sad she’s gone.

A celebration of life will take place in the spring or the summer.