Born on February 8th, 1932, in the village of Langenstein, Gernot was the eldest of Wilhelm Schenk’s, five children. As the first-born he assumed the role of secondary caregiver to his younger siblings during his father’s conscription in the second world war. This experience no doubt instilled in Gernot his sense of responsibility and duty to others. He spent his early years navigating the chaos of war, surviving multiple bombings, spitfire attacks, machine-gunfire, and lootings from bandits.
After the war, Gernot apprenticed as a cabinet maker and eventually fled across the east German border to the west. He moved to Bremen where he honed his skills before departing for Canada on August 13, 1953. His adventurous spirit took him across Northern Canada to Prince George, Kitimat, Cambridge Bay, Dawson Creek, and Inuvik working in construction and exploring the great wilderness.
Eventually it was time to settle down and on December 28th 1966, Gernot married a kindred spirit in Elaine Sinclair. They wasted no time starting a family. Eric, their first child was born on October 28, 1967 and less than one year later, on October 5, 1968, Karl was born. Gernot incorporated his distribution business, Schenk Architectural Imports the same year.
Elaine tragically passed on Dec 22, 1970 after a difficult battle with cancer, leaving Gernot a widower with two young sons to raise. Despite the heartbreak, Gernot still managed to maintain an optimism and gentle kindness contradictory to the challenges his life had so far presented.
In 1974 Gernot met Edith and was introduced to her three daughters; Linda Karin, and Inge. Edith and Gernot married on July 10, 1976, leaving the family one son short of a Brady Bunch. They raised their family in Calgary until Gernot’s retirement in 1991.
Gernot and Edith moved to the mountains of British Columbia, progressively moving west over the course of almost 3 decades. They lived in Windermere, operated an orchard in Winfield, and had an acreage in Celista before eventually settling on the coast in White Rock.
On December 10th, Gernot was admitted to Peace Arch Hospital in White Rock after suffering a significant stroke. He remained in care over the next 3 weeks recovering with his children by his bedside. While his recovery appeared to be going well, Gernot experienced a second stroke in the early hours of December 30th and could not be revived. He passed peacefully and without suffering. On that day, we lost our gentle and caring husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. He will be dearly missed, and never forgotten. Anyone that had the pleasure of knowing and spending time with him is certainly the better for it. In his typical understated fashion, Gernot shared his humble wisdom in his final days by musing “Life is an experiment, from the beginning to the end.” His inherent optimism shines through in these words and is a wonderful example of how we should all live our lives.
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