Edith Erika Schroth (née Stender), of Whitby, Ontario, passed away peacefully in her sleep at age 94 at Hospice Waterloo Region on May 25, 2021. A native of the Free City of Danzig (now Gdansk, Poland), Edith was born on October 4th, 1926. After enjoying a comfortable childhood on her grandfather’s estate, she fled westward with her family in the winter of 1945, in the closing months of the Second World War, along with hundreds of thousands of other East Prussian refugees. By a stroke of good fortune, Edith did not board the doomed refugee ship, Wilhelm Gustloff, which was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine on January 30, 1945. After meeting and marrying Alfred Schroth in West Germany, Edith selected Canada as their adoptive home, and the couple moved to Oshawa, Ontario in 1955. They raised four children, while Alfred worked at the General Motors plant. Edith was an avid bowler and earned several trophies. She loved to dance and was a long-standing member of Oshawa’s German Club Lorelei, where she and Alfred enjoyed many Saturday evenings together with friends. Sadly, Edith was widowed in 1992. She leaves behind four children, Gilda Dell (Michael), Ralph Schroth (Brenda), Diane VandePol, and Andre Schroth (Elizabeth), and ten grandchildren (Jennifer, Justin, Zachary, Alissa, Joshua, Erika (Joshua), Kristina, Ethan, Liam, and Christopher), as well as several nieces and nephews, and a brother-in-law, Werner Schroth.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a private family service is planned. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to Hospice Waterloo Region or to Grace Lutheran Church in Oshawa.