In Loving Memory of Anna Ebert

Anna Ebert was born on March 22, 1924 in Germany. Her father Rudolf Műller was a train engineer and her mother Theresa was a housewife. They were a combined family, fourteen children in total. Three of the boys died in World War II. The family were devout Catholics, participating in early morning Mass three times a week and saying grace at every mealtime. Anna spent most of her years growing up in a Nun’s convent, which she remembered as a good experience for her. Anna appreciated the spiritual values she got in her upbringing. Her mother had a stroke at age 42, but Anna was still able to complete high school. She recalled when her family was so poor, her classmates would bring an extra sandwich to share so she had something to eat. When Anna was 19, she had Typhoid fever and remembered how painful that illness was. During the war, she was appointed to work in the Frieberg Hospital, carrying out nursing duties while learning on the job. She was learning to become a practical nurse. She stopped worrying about the bombings; she explained to co-workers that “If I die standing up, that’s no different than lying down and hiding!”. Anna had an easy-going personality, cheerful yet firm with strong moral convictions. Many stories from the dangers of war time demonstrated her strong values for the rights and protection of those under persecution. She rejected the Nazi philosophy to the point of risking reprimands for her opinions. She felt like her life made a difference as she prayed with all her heart during the bombings and helped rescue people buried beneath the rubble. Her main events in life were moving from Germany to England where she lived and worked for five years. She then moved to Quebec on her journey, eventually landing in Vancouver. A photograph of Victoria showed the beauty of British Columbia so she decided to move West, and in 1957 that is what she did. Anna met and married Eduard Ebert, a man that was twenty-two years her senior. He was Polish and she German and they had twenty happy years together. Eduard died of a massive heart attack in 1979, leaving Anna to raise her teenage daughters, Carmen and Anette on her own. Anna and the kids were absolutely devastated from “Ed’s” death and it was several years before the journey forward resumed. Anna belonged to the Berlin Club and loved getting together with the German community; bringing her family together for the holidays was also very important to her. Her hobbies included visiting with family and friends, gardening, cooking and baking, crocheting, knitting, and watching her favourite shows which included The Lawrence Welk Show, One Life to Live, General Hospital, and others. She also was an avid supporter of the Vancouver Canucks. She loved to sing and enjoyed Church music. In her last nine years or so of her life she resided at Buchanan Lodge in Sapperton (New Westminster) and she found comfort from simple, kind words and conversations and various church services, especially the singing. She had many, many visits from her family over the years, which were accompanied by flowers and sweets and talks over Tim Horton’s and McDonald’s coffee. We will miss her warm and lively spirit and her strong voice lifting praise to God. On recent days when Anna was not feeling well anymore, it was clear that she took comfort in the Lord. She has gone to be with all those who have gone before her. May she now find peace and health. We wish her continued love always.

Wir lieben dich, Anna.