Obituary of Elma Schickedanz

Elma ( Klug) Schickedanz  October 16, 1928—December 12, 2019

Elma Schickedanz passed away peacefully on Dec. 12, 2019, in Markham, Ontario, surrounded by her family.  Elma was predeceased by her beloved husband Gerhard, and is survived by her children Charlotte (Thomas Nowaskey), Arthur (Jane), Manfred (Robin), Gerhard (Leanne) and Waldemar (Gail), her sisters Erna Krause, Hella Gocentas (Ewald), and her brother Werner (Marilyn). She has been blessed with, and deeply loved, her 20 grandchildren, and leaves 18 great grandchildren ( two more on the way).     Elma was born in Kybaikan, Lithuania, on Oct. 16, 1928. The Klug family’s lives were upended in her teenage years by war, with her family fleeing their farm in 1942, returning briefly, but leaving for good in 1944. The Klugs resettled near Hamburg, Germany, and secured approval to immigrate to Canada in 1951, settling in the small southwest Ontario town of Rodney. There, Elma helped support her family, tirelessly laboring on area farms.   In 1952, she and her sister Erna moved to Toronto, where she met Gerhard Schickedanz, a young man with a background nearly exactly like her own—German Lutheran farmers, settled in Lithuania (previously Russia), then uprooted and resettled after war. They married on June 27, 1953, creating a lifelong union of 58 years. Together with Gerhard’s three brothers and their spouses, they built the real estate development business that carries their name to this day.   In November 1961, Elma and Gerhard moved into the home on the farm they built on Warden Avenue, where they lived out the rest of their lives. Unionville was their community, and for her last 51 years, Bethesda Lutheran her church.     With five children, 20 grandchildren, 18 ( and counting) great grandchildren, three siblings, many in laws, family and faith were the focal points of her life. She was a fierce survivor of difficult times, a completely devoted wife and mother, a tireless, ceaselessly hard worker, truly a model of family matriarch for her many offspring to aspire to.      Elma leaves us knowing that God’s hands are stretched out in welcome, from a life lived in faith and trust, and is joyfully reunited with Gerhard.     Her family loves her, and will forever miss her. Friends and family will be received at the Dixon Garland Funeral Home, 166 Main St. N (Markham Rd.) Markham on Sunday December 15, 2019 from 5 to 8pm and from 11 am to 12 noon Monday at Bethesda Lutheran Church 20 Union St. Unionville.  Funeral Service in  the church at 12 noon Monday. Interment Bethesda Lutheran Cemetery. If desired donations to Bethesda Lutheran Church or Markham Stouffville Hospital Elma ( Klug) Schickedanz October 16, 1928—December 12, 2019 Elma Schickedanz passed away peacefully on Dec. 12, 2019, in Markham, Ontario, surrounded by her family.   Elma was predeceased by her beloved husband Gerhard, and is survived by her children Charlotte (Thomas Nowaskey), Arthur (Jane), Manfred (Robin), Gerhard (Leanne) and Waldemar (Gail), her sisters Erna Krause, Hella Gocentas (Ewald), and her brother Werner (Marilyn). She has been blessed with, and deeply loved, her 20 grandchildren, and leaves 18 great grandchildren ( two more on the way).     Elma was born in Kybaikan, Lithuania, on Oct. 16, 1928. The Klug family’s lives were upended in her teenage years by war, with her family fleeing their farm in 1942, returning briefly, but leaving for good in 1944. The Klugs resettled near Hamburg, Germany, and secured approval to immigrate to Canada in 1951, settling in the small southwest Ontario town of Rodney. There, Elma helped support her family, tirelessly laboring on area farms.   In 1952, she and her sister Erna moved to Toronto, where she met Gerhard Schickedanz, a young man with a background nearly exactly like her own—German Lutheran farmers, settled in Lithuania (previously Russia), then uprooted and resettled after war. They married on June 27, 1953, creating a lifelong union of 58 years. Together with Gerhard’s three brothers and their spouses, they built the real estate development business that carries their name to this day.   In November 1961, Elma and Gerhard moved into the home on the farm they built on Warden Avenue, where they lived out the rest of their lives. Unionville was their community, and for her last 51 years, Bethesda Lutheran her church.     With five children, 20 grandchildren, 18 ( and counting) great grandchildren, three siblings, many in laws, family and faith were the focal points of her life. She was a fierce survivor of difficult times, a completely devoted wife and mother, a tireless, ceaselessly hard worker, truly a model of family matriarch for her many offspring to aspire to.      Elma leaves us knowing that God’s hands are stretched out in welcome, from a life lived in faith and trust, and is joyfully reunited with Gerhard.     Her family loves her, and will forever miss her. Friends and family will be received at the Dixon Garland Funeral Home, 166 Main St. N (Markham Rd.) Markham on Sunday December 15, 2019 from 5 to 8pm and from 11 am to 12 noon Monday at Bethesda Lutheran Church 20 Union St. Unionville.  Funeral Service in  the church at 12 noon Monday. Interment Bethesda Lutheran Cemetery. If desired donations to Bethesda Lutheran Church or Markham Stouffville Hospital