Alfreda Wenzel

Alfreda Wenzel – 06/19/28 – 01/13/24

Alfreda Johanna Maria (nee Ebner) Wenzel passed away surrounded by family at Sunrise Senior Living in Mississauga on January 13, 2024, after struggling with dementia for four years. 

Alfreda was born in Leoben, Styria, Austria. She was the second daughter of Aloisia Platzner and Rudolf Ebner. She leaves behind her brother Rudolf of Gai, Austria. Alfreda was predeceased by her sister Luise (1944), her loving husband Josef Wenzel (1998), her stepmother Justine Platzner (1998), and her grandson Daniel Gould (2020). She is survived by her son Herbert (Joanne) Wenzel, Kenneth, and Alexander; her eldest daughter Kathryn (John) Ippolito, Jeremy (Kathryn), Mark (Roxanne), and Andrew (Cynthia); and her youngest daughter Andrea (Scott) Gould, and Justine. She was blessed with five great-grandchildren: Liam, Remy, Raiden, Josiah, and Kaida. 

Alfreda always loved and prioritized family. She often spoke about her happy childhood in Austria and the many family members who helped to make it so. As a teenager, she enjoyed her leisure time in the Alps, mountain climbing and skiing. 

From 1943 to 1945, she went to boarding school in Maribor, Slovenia. She told us many stories about her memorable experiences during this time. In October 1945, she moved to Graz, Styria (where she lived with her dad's relatives) to attend teachers college. In June 1948, she graduated with her teaching degree. Subsequently, she taught elementary school in her hometown of Leoben. Over the decades, Alfreda attended many class reunions in Austria with her teachers college classmates, and many of her students stayed in touch with her throughout her life.

Alfreda met the love of her life, Josef, on a mountaintop near Graz. Because of the post-war conditions in Austria, they decided to immigrate to Canada to start a new life. They married immediately in London, Ontario, in 1953 and started their family. While they lived there, they formed many lifelong friendships. 

In 1963 they moved to Toronto. Alfreda quickly became involved in her community. She taught at the Toronto German Language School in North York every Saturday.

She was the “Brown Owl” (Girl Guide Leader) of the local Brownie pack for many years, organizing the various activities that were involved and overnight “camping” trips at Camp Makeewa.

Richview Baptist Church became her home church in her later years, and she enjoyed faithfully serving as “a greeter,” welcoming and chatting with people as they arrived.

Alfreda loved people and remained involved in helping and supporting them whenever possible. She always welcomed friends and family into her home for a meal, afternoon coffee, or a more extended stay. Alfreda was pleased to share her swimming pool with the neighbours. She was an excellent cook and baker, often serving Austrian specialties. If people could not come to her, she would go to them.

As technology advanced, Alfreda did her best to keep up, which assisted her in keeping in touch with all her friends and loved ones. She became proficient at texting, messaging, and reading posts on Facebook using her laptop, iPad, or mobile phone.

She was physically active her entire life. She enjoyed many years at the family cottage on Lake Eugenia in the Beaver Valley, where she continued  skiing, swimming, canoeing, and hiking along the cliffs on the Bruce Trail. After the cottage was sold, she was known for regularly swimming at “the club” or in her backyard pool, and she was still downhill skiing and cycling well into her eighties.

She loved travelling either in her car or by plane. She never let distance hold her back. In her seventies, after Josef passed away from a lengthy illness, she went abroad on various European travel tours with her friends.

Alfreda had a very positive outlook on life and was determined. She displayed this tenacity when health challenges came her way. She was a survivor of breast cancer, skin cancer and even colon cancer when she was 90.

Our mom (and Oma) was a rock for our family - always there, listening, encouraging, and loving unconditionally. Her line often was, “Things have a way of working out. God knows.” She will be greatly missed but always held close in our hearts.

A celebration of Alfreda’s life will be held on January 25, 2024, at the Ward Funeral Home in Weston. The family will receive condolences from 5:30 – 7:30 after which there will be a committal service.

This is the zoom link for the Funeral.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85048552596

For Guests that do not wish to participate but only watch the “service” portion beginning at 7:30 p.m. There will be a YouTube feed available on LCA’s YouTube Channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/@lavalchristianassembly-lca4245/streams

 In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in her memory to:

Breakaway Community Services or Canadian Cancer Society.

 https://breakawaycs.ca/daniel-gould-scholarship-fund/

https://cancer.ca/en