Erika Karoline Wilhelmine (Duus) Zillich

She was born in the north-coast city of Kiel, Germany, in March of 1934, and later moved with her family to Frankenberg, an interior town on the Eder River, with father Emil, mother Elli, and siblings Ursula, Karin and Dieter. As a teen she worked at the local hospital preparing food. This is where she met a patient named Wolfgang Zillich, and the two would marry a couple of years later, in 1954, when Erika was 20 years of age.

With a baby boy, Juergen, the couple made a bold move to Canada in 1957 to start a new life, following the path of Wolfgang's family to a new country halfway around the world. A bricklayer by trade, Wolfgang worked to feed a growing family while Erika also worked hard to care for the children – six of them, named Juergen, Ralph, Barbara, Michael, Carol and Thomas. The family settled in Aldergrove and had many connections to the community, through school, sports and Wolfgang’s volunteer role as a firefighter.

By the 1970s, Erika found part-time work as a seamstress for a local men’s wear shop, and in the 1980s was employed at delicatessens in the area.

In her spare time, Erika liked to knit clothing for her children and, eventually, her grandchildren. During hockey games involving her sons, she could be seen knitting while in the stands at Aldergrove Arena, located next to the firehall. She loved to read, cook, tend to her backyard vegetable garden and keep a clean house. When her kids were in school, Erika also volunteered as the “hot dog lady” for many years.

She was a loving mother who helped Wolfgang raise their six children, and eventually the couple moved from the home they built on 267A Street to a townhouse in Abbotsford. Sadly, Wolfgang died of cancer in 1998, not long after retiring, leaving Erika a widow in her mid-60s.

As years went by, Erika met Walter, with whom she lived in Abbotsford for 16 years. The couple enjoyed traveling during their time together, and enjoyed vacations in Mexico, Germany, Hawaii and other places of the world. Walter was 92 when he died in December 2020.

With declining health of her own, Erika later moved to a care home in Langley for a few months prior to her death. For nearly a year, she said she just wanted to go to sleep and not wake up, and that’s exactly what happened on the morning of Jan. 13, 2023.

Erika was saddened by the sudden passing of her eldest child, Juergen (Tracey), in 2018. She is survived by five children Ralph (Teresa), Barbara, Michael, Carol (Jim) and Tom, along with eight grandchildren who loved their “Omi” (Krista, Carolyn, Brent, Wesley, Dan, Sara, Jenna and Jacob), and six great-grandchildren (Isabella, Walter, Koen, Wynnsley, Riley and Holly). In Germany, she is also survived by sister Karin and brother Dieter, along with many nieces and nephews both in Canada and Germany.

A private memorial service is planned by the family.