Brunhilde (Hilde) Dankert February 1, 1954 - October 10, 2023
Bowmanville, Ontario
Bowmanville, Ontario
Hilde passed away on Oct.10, 2023, at 69, after a long journey with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.)
Brunhilde means “ready for battle,” and Hilde, along with her family, lived up to the name. Her formidable mother, Helma, bravely escaped East Germany with her three sons. They were part of the great wave of immigration from East Germany. As communism took hold of the country, the family settled in a refugee camp in West Germany to secure freedom. Upon leaving the centre, Helma gave birth to Hilde in Oberhausen on Feb. 1, 1954. To continue improving their circumstances, the family immigrated to Canada in 1969 with little money and even less knowledge of English. Hilde shared that it was a difficult transition, but it was also when her grand love affair with Canada began. Coming from a family suffering from war and generational trauma, she valued Canada's democracy, freedom and tolerance. Hilde built a life in Canada filled with tradition, creativity and good mischief.
Her deep love for her birthplace remained with her throughout her lifetime. She ensured that German traditions were tied into holiday and birthday celebrations, including Easter egg trees covered with painted eggs, Saint Nicholas Day stockings, Christmas Eves filled with German carols and stollen, a German Christmas bread, and elaborate birthday tables filled with flowers. She was a talented artist who loved to paint and passed her creativity on to her daughter, Kimberly. She celebrated Kim's potential when her daughter used the living room furniture as her canvas for some of her first artworks at age three. Hilde would go on to support all of her daughter's artistic endeavours. A free spirit, she would often dream up random trips, whether to a local beach, a campground, a new area of Ontario, or a truck stop for late-night coffee. Driving 23 hours straight to Florida was routine; she loved the sunshine and was eager to get on a beach vacation. She was a free spirit who thought routine should be broken up with spontaneous adventures because that is where the magic lies.
Hilde was part of the early wave of independent women who raised their children as single mothers. She balanced parenting with her job as one of the first female system analysts at a bank. Despite only completing high school, she was fiercely dedicated to education and improvement. In the early eighties, she bought a computer and taught her young daughter how to code because she instinctively knew where the future was going and wanted to equip Kim for a successful career. Hilde loved flowers, nature and animals - having spent some early formative years in Germany's beautiful lush landscapes. In midlife, Hilde met Stanley Amos, and they had a loving marriage of more than 30 years. Together, they started an organic farm, raising llamas, cows and chickens, and enjoyed a quiet, loving life together.
Hilde built a life based on resilience, bravery, love and passion. Her mother, Helma Marker, and brothers, Joachim Marker and Paul Dankert, predeceased her. She is survived by her husband, Stanley Amos, daughter, Kimberly Fox, brother, Peter Marker, and nieces Jennifer Dankert and Simone Gerhardt. The family plans to commemorate her life privately. In lieu of flowers, please donate to The Canadian Lung Association.
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