Tribute

Elsie Dyck was born on January 26, 1931, in Einlage, Russia (present day Ukraine). Elsie was the third of four daughters (Mika, Jutta, and Hilda) born to Jacob and Susanna Froese.  Elsie’s happy childhood was cut short when on July 14, 1938, her father and grandfather were imprisoned by Russian soldiers.  Elsie remembered running after the truck that took her dad and Opa, seeing many other men arrested and driven away. They never heard from them again. In June 1941, Hitler declared war on Russia and during this time, Elsie helped her family build an air raid shelter.

In 1943, Elsie and her family fled the war, making their way to Germany by train. Over the next four years, the family struggled to survive, living in many different refugee camps, open fields, and abandoned cabins. They narrowly avoided being sent back to Russia. In January 1945, Elsie and her family boarded a train

to East Germany where they stayed in a camp that was eventually overtaken by Russians, and Elsie, Mika and Jutta worked in the camp kitchen serving meals for the Russian army.  The family was eventually able to escape by digging under the wire fence.

In 1947, help came from the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) who coordinated sponsorship for Elsie’s family to come to Canada via a family member of Elsie’s who had emigrated in the 1920s. He helped them get to Westphalia in Germany, then to Bucholz to another refugee camp. Elsie, her mother, and three sisters left Bremerhaven, Germany by boat on December 13.  They travelled on the Aquitania to Halifax, Canada, arriving on December 20. After traveling by ship, they took a train out west. MCC workers helped them along the way, and they arrived in BC on New Year’s Eve, 1947.

Elsie and her family first lived in Yarrow, and eventually, she moved to Vancouver to find a better paying job. Elsie, Mika, and Jutta lived at the Mädchenheim home for Mennonite girls, and they started working in households. Elsie remembered calling Jutta to ask her what corn flakes were because they had never seen cereal! When they weren’t working, Elsie and Jutta would meet each other in Vancouver to go for long walks.  During her time in Vancouver, Elsie started attending the First United Mennonite Church where she met Jacob Dyck. After a brief courtship, they married on December 31, 1949, and were eventually blessed with three children: Harry Jacob (1950), Ronald Isaac (1952) and Rita Elsie (1956).

Elsie and Jake moved to Langley in the early 1990s where they started attending Bethel Mennonite Church. They enjoyed living beside their children, Rita and Paul, and Harry, and being close to  grandchildren.

Elsie was well known for her hospitality and was generous her time. For many years, she volunteered with the MCC. She started the MCC Vancouver Store, going to various churches in the Lower Mainland and sharing at women’s groups about the MCC. She arranged volunteers and liaised with missionaries to send over handmade items to sell in the store.

When Elsie and Jake moved to Garden Park Towers in Abbotsford in 2008, she started volunteering in the café, serving in the dining room. Elsie enjoyed the fellowship of lifelong friends at Garden Park.

After Jake passed away in 2014, Elsie stayed in Garden Park for a few years and then moved to Primrose Garden apartments.  She spent her final two years living at Oxford Care Home where she passed on October 3, 2023.

Elsie brought joy in every room that she entered with her laughter and her good nature. Family gatherings were fun with Elsie always in the kitchen, preparing the food and serving delicious meals on a beautifully set table.

Elsie will be remembered by her two sons, Harry (Kam) and Ron (Jan), her daughter, Rita (Paul), eight grandchildren: Angela (Lee), Krystal (Kevin), Tracy (Brent), Jeffrey (Shannon), Hayley (Nick), Heidi (Ross), Rachel (Travis) and Paulie (Jess), and 14 great-grandchildren.