April 21, 1926 - September 27, 2023
Our loving mother Traute slipped into the gentle sleep of death on Wednesday, September 27, 2023. She was laid to rest beside the love of her life, Otto Wollin.
She was predeceased by her loving husband Otto in July 2020, her parents, Wilhelm & Ida Adam, her 9 siblings, Adolf, Siegfried, Gottlieb, Elisabeth, Martha, Hertha, Emmy, Otto, Kurt; son-in-law, Siegbert Bockrandt and daughter Sandra Proulx.
She leaves behind her children Ruth Bockrandt, Harold Wollin (Zoe Bacchus), Edith (Wally) Litke; grandchildren: Scott (Jenessa), Marcie( Brandon) Brazee, David, Sandra (Brian), Linda (Terry), Regan, Ryan (Karin); and great grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Hudson, Jenna, Logan, Melissa, Alexander and Alicia. She will be fondly remembered by many friends and relations around the world.
Traute Adam was born on April 21, 1926, the second youngest in a family of 10 children. Like many German settlers, her father worked to upgrade from their original homestead in Wolynia, Poland. He had just made a deal on a beautiful piece of land, fruit trees, a garden and grain fields in Heinrichsberg, West Prussia. Before they could move he died suddenly, so her mother Ida had to pack up the family and all their belongings in a wagon and trek across the country to their new farm.
Traute was raised mostly by her older brothers and sisters. She attended a Polish grade school near their home for five years. The next year she and her younger brother Kurt were enrolled in a private German School a few km away. But then on September 1,1939 the Germans attacked Poland, and their pastoral home became a war zone. She remembers watching flames light up the night sky when a nearby train station was bombed.
Eventually things settled down, and she was enrolled in a household course, where she learned cleaning, bed making, cooking and baking. Fortunately she was able to apprentice at their own farm.
By 1942 Russia had entered the war, and all the men of age were off fighting in the war, except Kurt, who at 14 was sent to a private school. Her sisters had married and left the farm by then, leaving 16-year-old Traute at home with her mother.
By early January, the Russians were closing in. Any Germans left were forced to flee. In the dead of winter and -20 ̊ temperature, the three women, and small child loaded their wagon with feather beds and pillows, clothing and food for themselves and the horses. Everything else was left behind and the animals set free. They could only hope that the rest of the family would make it through in their own convoys.
The wagon train moved day and night stopping only to eat and feed the horses. At those times Traute would run up and down the deserted streets looking for anyone they knew or might need a ride. One day she found her brother Siegfried and his family, and they were able to continue on together.
They ended up in Stedebergen near Verden. Germans with homes were obligated to provide housing for refugee families. They were billeted to the Drell family. Their daughter Erika became a life-long friend when she also ended up in Edmonton.
Traute found a job doing housework, gardening and field work. Her duties included milking cows that grazed in a meadow 1km away. Twice a day she brought back two three-gallon pails of milk.
She attended weekly church services and the subsequent evangelist youth conventions. It was at one of these, on New Years Day in 1949, that she met Otto Wollin. She chose to believe that he fell in love with her instantly. On March 13th they were engaged and were married on May the 28th 1949.
They departed for Canada on October 5 aboard the SS Samaria. From Quebec, they spent 4 days on the train to Trochu. They stayed with family for a few months before moving on to stay with an aunt in Bruce, Alberta.
On April 1, 1950 they moved to Edmonton. Their daughter Ruth was born in June and by December they had saved enough to purchase their own home in Riverdale.
In 1952, they adopted 7-year-old Edith Hauk. She was the youngest of five orphans. In June 1953 Harold was born to make it a family of five. To help with expenses they took in boarders. In1956 they moved into a larger home in Strathcona. It had a basement suite which they rented out for many years.
Sandra Dagg, 16 joined the family in 1964. She later moved to Vancouver, married and had twin boys Ryan and Regan.
In 1969 they purchased Park Speedy Laundromat. At the same time they bought a newer home nearby so they could walk to work. With added special services and dry cleaning, their business grew successfully until they retired in 1985.
In 1971, Ruth married Sieg Bockrandt and moved to Winnipeg where they raised two children Scott and Marcie.
They loved to travel. From camping trips to Banff and Radium Hot Springs in the mountains with a trailer and van, to road trips to Winnipeg to see Ruth and her family. When they discovered that they had relatives in Brazil, they went to visit and ended up spending five winters there.
In 2003 they moved into a condo at The Place at Lakeside to enjoy their twilight years. It was here that they celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary and Otto’s 100th birthday with family and friends.
When Otto passed away in July 2020, Traute moved into assisted living at Shepherd’s Care. She spent 3 years cared for by their wonderful staff. In September her declining health necessitated Long Term Care, and she was moved to the Dr. Zetter Center. She passed away three weeks later.
A graveside service was held on Monday, October 2, 2023. Celebration of life for both Otto & Traute will be held on October 20, 2023 at Hainstock Funeral Home, 9810-34 Avenue , Edmonton, AB.
Livestream available: https://view.oneroomstreaming.com/index.php?data=MTY5NzQ5MzU2MzI3NjU0NyZvbmVyb29tLWFkbWluJmNvcHlfbGluaw
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to support her granddaughter https://www.foursquare.ca/our-missionaries/brandon-marcie-brazee
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