Obituary of Barbara Anna Walch

Barbara Walch (nee Piezonka) passed away surrounded by her loving family, on November 19, 2017 at the age of 91, at St. Joseph's Health Centre, in Macklin, Saskatchewan. She led an extraordinary life being born on June 28, 1926 after World War I in Cologne, Germany. As a teen, she lived through World War II in Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia. At the end of the war, she and her mother, fleeing the advancing Russians, walked back to her beloved city of Cologne to find very little still intact. Barbara and Klaus met in a dental office. The roles were reversed, Klaus was the patient and Barbara was a dental assistant. They were engaged in Germany before Klaus came over to Canada. She left all that was familiar to her; family, friends, country, language and customs, to join the love of her life, Klaus. She arrived in Macklin in December of 1952, a small prairie town of 600 people in the dead of winter, quite the contrast to the large metropolitan city of Cologne she grew up in. She was welcomed by Klaus, and his aunt and uncle - the Eid family. She started work at St. Joseph's Hospital in the administration department. After they married in 1954, Barbara stayed home to raise their four children. She was a dedicated mother and her family was of great importance to her. After the children were older, she returned to the dental office, assisting Klaus in his practice. She and Klaus were instrumental in starting the Macklin Concert Series, bringing in world class performances to Macklin and often hosting the performers after in their home. Barbara had a passion for gardening, needlework, cooking, music, and travel. In her later years she struggled with hearing and sight loss, but kept up her spirits with humor. She often said it is nice to get old, but not to be old. With the loss of her sight, she deeply regretted not being able to see her grandchildren as they matured and their spouses and her great grandchildren. This fall, due to declining mobility, she moved to St. Joseph's Health Centre where the staff provided extremely professional and compassionate care, for which we are very grateful. The love and respect that was demonstrated between Barbara and Klaus was an inspiration that has been passed on to their children. Barbara leaves to mourn her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren: Tom (Dorothy) - Mikel (Brittany), Erika (Adam) and Klara; Nicola; Ingrid (Cam) MacNeill - Benjamin ( Kelly), Kaitlin (Greg) Bast ; Petra (Doug) Stang - Tobias (Jen) Adeline and Klaus, Michaela (Todd). Nephew - Klaus (Marin) Piezonka, and extended Canadian family - Tom and Jean Eid and family. She was predeceased by her husband, Klaus and brother, Hans and his wife Hella.