Eva Ilse Gisela Lister

Eva was born on May 2, 1925, in Breslau, Germany, now Wroclaw in Poland. Having spent the War years in Germany, ending with the deaths of her parents from a direct hit to their house, which Eva barely survived, she was evacuated to West Germany.

Having a Jewish mother, Eva was able to join the Jewish Relief Organization, which helped survivors of the concentration camps emigrate to Israel. Whilst working at the JRO, Eva met Mark Lister, a colleague and they were married in Hanover in 1949. Following their employment with JRO, Mark, an agronomist, was offered a position in Canada, and they sailed first-class to Montreal on the Empress of France, a CPR liner in 1951.

Shortly thereafter their daughter Beverley was born. While still in Germany, Eva had taken acting lessons and she continued acting in Montreal, in both German and English language plays. She then graduated to directing, for which she found she had a gift. In addition to the stage, Eva worked full time in a property management company and then as a unit co-ordinator at the Royal Victoria Hospital. All these professions gave Eva much pleasure.

Sadly, Mark passed away in 1997. After retirement, Eva moved to Vancouver in1983, partly to avoid the eastern winters and to join Beverley and her son Evan, Beverley having recently achieved her M.A. from UBC. In Vancouver, Eva took on two new careers, firstly guiding tours of mainly German tourists across North America. She also studied to become a guide at the Museum of Anthropology. Eva continued with acting and directing with local companies and she joined the Brock House, a senior activity society where she started an acting group which lasted for a number of years. Eva enjoyed attending classical concerts and in 1995 found herself sitting next to another music enthusiast, Philip, who became her partner until the end.

Together they travelled in Canada, the U.S., Europe and Asia as well as enjoying cruises to the South Pacific and Australia, and the Baltic. One of their early trips was to her birthplace, now of course Polish but it was difficult for Eva to recognize her childhood city.

While enjoying general good health, latterly Eva suffered from failing eyesight and hearing as well as mobility issues. On September 1, 2023, Eva passed away very peacefully at home in the arms of her beloved Philip, at the age of 98.