Edeltraut Elizabeth Gratopp (nee Arndt) of Markham, Ontario, passed peacefully on May 19, 2026, three days shy of her 103rd birthday.

Edeltraut was born in East Prussia, Germany, into a world of horses and buggies, farmer’s markets, skating on frozen ponds in the winter, and warming up by the coal fire.

She and her beloved brother, Gotthold, loved music and spent endless hours playing together…she on the piano and he on the violin.

Edeltraut, an accomplished student, wished to go to University and study art.  This in the 1930’s, an era and in a place when this was rather unusual for women.   She went, showing her independent streak and preparedness to achieve her goals, no matter what the obstacles.

Sadly, her studies were interrupted by WWII.  Conscripted into service, she acted on her moral anti-war principles and served first as a streetcar conductor and then as a guardian to many orphaned children that she helped evacuate to relative safety in West Germany.

Close to the war’s end, she and her family themselves became refugees and had to flee to the West.

The terrible war finally ended and she found employment in a commercial art studio in Hamburg, Germany, where she met the love of her life, Richard.

As both of their lives had been turned upside down by the war, and both opportunities and living space were in ruins, they decided to seek a better future and emigrate to Canada.

Always the trail blazer, she went first, established herself in Toronto and from the moment that Richard arrived six months later, they forged ahead together, had two children, Andreas and Felix, and treasured Canada, their wonderful adopted homeland, to the end of their lives.

Alongside raising her family, painting, figure skating, water skiing, and enjoying the outdoors, Elizabeth continued a decades-long career as a commercial artist at Photo Engravers & Electrotypers.

Approaching retirement, Elizabeth embarked upon her next love…she bought the cottage.  In between their travels around the world, her and Richard’s shared passion became life at the lake where they made and shared many wonderful memories with family and friends.

Elizabeth will always be remembered for her independent spirit, for quietly always leading the way, for her generous heart, for her deep love of family.

Elizabeth was pre-deceased by Richard, her husband of 65 years, her parents, Richard and Luise, her siblings Margarete, Dorothea, Gotthold, Elfriede, and a baby brother, and is survived by her children Felix (Norinne) and Andreas (Rachelle), her grandchildren Jeff, Eric (Marianne), Megan (Matt), and Thomas (Ellen), and her great-grandchildren, James, Devon, William, Leigh, Vivian and Colin.

Visitation will be held Friday, June 5th, from 1:00 to 3:00 followed at 3:00 by a service at Dixon-Garland, 166 Main Street, Markham, Ontario, L3P 1Y3.