WEIHS, Alice Elizabeth (nee Fritsch)
Passed away peacefully on February 18, 2015, at the age of 93, cared for by her son Ronald Weihs and his partner Judith Sandiford at their home in Hamilton, ON. Her son Frederick Weihs and her sister Rosemarie Herrell were of great support during her final months.
Alice was born on August 27, 1921 in Bačka Palanka. Alice’s sister Madeleine was born a year later. Her mother Rosina (Eich) and her father Louis Fritsch were part of the Donauschwaben community in Yugoslavia (now Serbia). Louis was a miller on a floating flour mill on the Danube River.
The family emigrated to Toronto during the Great Depression, where siblings Joseph and Rosemarie were born. Alice went to St. Patrick’s School and Jarvis Collegiate in Toronto. The family became active in the movement for social and economic justice. Alice, still in her teens, was a shop-floor organizer for the United Electrical Workers Union.
In 1944, Alice married Harry Weihs. The family lived in Scarborough and Don Mills, and were active in the Don Heights Unitarian Church, where Alice directed the Sunday School. She worked as a preschool teacher and directed nursery schools.
The marriage ended in 1970. In 1976, Alice went to London, England, where she joined a group of activists in the East End that turned an abandoned Council Estate, Matilda House, into a co-op. In the mid-1980s, Alice began spending part of each year in Toronto, living with Ron and Judith.
In 1986 she travelled with her son Fred and his wife Kowyeesa Owpaluk (now deceased) to Southampton Island in Hudson Bay to go spring camping and goose hunting with her Inuit in-laws. Alice was a frequent traveler on the bus from Toronto to Ottawa, where she lovingly assisted with raising her two grandchildren, Rosina and Leah.
In September 1995, Alice moved into the Performing Arts Lodge (PAL) at 110 The Esplanade. Thanks to the supportive environment at PAL and a wonderful neighbourhood, she was able to live independently. Her sister Rosemarie was a frequent companion, marching with her in the Labour Day parade, and putting up anti-apartheid posters. Alice celebrated her 90th birthday in the PAL Green Room, with many friends from PAL, Older Women’s Network, and the Unitarian Church.
On October 27, 2014, she suffered a hip fracture. She moved to Hamilton in the care of Ron and Judith. She was doing well at her rehab exercises, but her ongoing congestive heart condition took over in January, 2015 and she began to decline. Ron and Judith were grateful that they could help her through this final phase of her remarkable life.
Alice is predeceased by brother Joe Fritsch and sister Madeleine Joseph (Philip). She will be greatly missed by sister Rosemarie Herrell (Edgar), sons Ronald (Judith Sandiford) and Frederick (Darlene Pearson), grandchildren Rosina and Leah Weihs, and Robert Allison (grandson by choice), great grandchildren Angelika, Ralph and Jasmine, nieces and nephews Jill, Owen, Marie, Anita (Herrell), and Stephen and Nicola Joseph, and numerous grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.
Cremation has taken place. There will be a celebration of Alice’s life at Performing Arts Lodge, 110 The Esplanade, Toronto, on Sunday, April 26, 2-5 pm. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Council of Canadians (www.canadians.org).
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