Edith Roettger

Edith Roettger, late of Weyburn, SK passed away October 31, 2022 at the age of 84 years.

She was predeceased by her son, Adrian (Ed) Roettger.

Edith is survived by her loving husband of 65 years, Walter Roettger; loved by her children: Armin (Dolores) Roettger, Rani (Rob) Roettger, Eric (Colleen) Roettger and Anne (Trent) Schnell; 13 grandkids: Elise, Atley, Hans, Ayla, Adam, Danielle, Oskar, Jade, Alex, Jake, Louis, Kirk and Veronica; 19 great grandchildren; her brother Ewald Rutschmann; and her sister Margaret Koessler.

Edith was born July 17, 1938 in Melbeck, Germany and grew up on a large estate that her father worked for; He was hired to work with the Dairy Cattle.

Her and her siblings were no strangers to hard work and hard life. Even at young ages they were depended on to help with the chores. Mom said they were always hungry as so much was rationed at that time.

She was a baby at the beginning of the WW11 and she often told stories of what she can remember at about age four of the war. She clearly remembers the bombing of her town and surroundings. She recalled an earth shaking rumble of the bombers planes, sometimes 400 flying overhead and targeting munitions factory’s and such. (One was near her town) On one occasion her mother was giving birth to her younger brother Ewald and could not make it to the shelter underground with the rest of the family. She was terrified and cried for her mom. By some miracle her mom survived and gave birth to her little brother while the entire town was on fire. Edith was so relieved to see her mom and baby brother were alright.

At about age 12 she was sent to a Catholic Convent where she would be educated. She disliked going as she was often picked on by other kids. She made the decision to get up and pretend to go to school every day but to school she did not go! She hid herself by the river under an overturned boat on the shore and wasted the days away. Finally after a few weeks the school had notified the authorities and they went to Edith’s family cottage to help deliver her to school that day. Edith’s mom had no idea and was certainly dumbfounded!

As Edith grew into a teenager she was crushing on a handsome guy who played accordion in her brothers band (Walter) unfortunately he had a girlfriend at the time and Mom often told us how she despised her! One evening her Father Fritz gave her some money and asked her to go into town to purchased cigarettes for him. It was a good walk from the cottage into the main town and it was there she heard music coming from one of the Dance Halls. She had a peek in the doorway and saw that Walter was there playing music for an event. She decided to spend the cigarette money and stay for the dance. Walter, who knew her family well came over to speak to her during his break and asked if she was staying for the dance, which she replied yes. He asked her if he could take her home that night. They were inseparable from that moment on. Married March 23rd, 1957

In 1960 Walter, Edith and their two children Armin and Rani set sail for Canada. They had a suitcase and a $100 bill. They landed in Montreal and travelled by train across the country to Alberta, where Edith’s brothers Ewald and Fritz were already. Walter found a job within 3 days, working for dry-cleaning company as a Tailor.

They didn’t have much especially when their 3rd child was born (Ed) It was a struggle as Walter made very little money at the time. Edith remembers a man coming to the door and asking her to go with him, she didn’t have great English speaking skills yet but she reluctantly went with him. He took her to a store and told her to help herself to anything she needs or wants. She couldn’t believe it! It was such a blessing. That Store she went to was the local Salvation Army and she never forgot that kindness! They also provided a beautiful Christmas that year for the family!

It wasn’t too long after that Edith and Walter moved to Weyburn where they remained to date and raised their five children. Eric and Anne were added to the family in Weyburn.

They opened up the Tailor Shop on 3rd Street downtown Weyburn and Edith worked alongside Walter who was a Master Tailor and he trained her as his Seamstress. Together the two of them had their business for over 40 years in Weyburn. During that Edith impacted a lot of customers while working at the Tailor Shop. She had a soft spot for anyone who struggled in life and would always do tailoring for free for them and offer them her friendship and a coffee and cake or cookies. She always had candies at the shop for the kids too.

Edith and Walter finally retired in 2010 and set out to enjoy their golden years on the farm which they loved.

Edith had an incredible journey in life and she passed on wonderful stories and values to all of us and especially her grandkids and great grandkids. She treasured their visits and often told them the same stories over and over!

She will be so missed by many, especially her family who benefited from having her in their lives. Rest in Paradise Edie!!

A Celebration of Edith’s life was held on Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. from Captain’s Hall, Weyburn, SK.

For family and friends so wishing, charitable donations in memory of Edith may be made to the Weyburn Salvation Army, 8 ~ 4th Street NE, Weyburn, SK, S4H 0Y1.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Edith Roettger, please visit our floral store.