Gail and Jan krog (Parents of Ed’s neighbour)

Entered February 16, 2021 from Oakville

So thankful for Ed’s interest and love for our two grandsons. He will be missed.

DOLORES WIELGUS (Neighbour)

Entered February 16, 2021 from MISSISSAUGA

Ed was always welcoming when I did my door-to-door canvassing for the March of Dimes. He also was a friendly neighbour who shared garden tips and occasional chats. One day when I was commenting about sponsored refugees and their appreciation of being in Canada, he said, '"When I came to Canada, it was Paradise for me. Every day in Canada is Paradise." His presence in our neighbourhood will be very much missed.

Bill and Cathy Albino (Friends of the family)

Entered February 17, 2021 from Aurora

Our sincere condolences to the Schaefer family

Emily Burton (Interviewer)

Entered February 17, 2021 from Halifax, Nova Scotia

My deepest condolences to Hildegard Schaefer and your family. I had the pleasure to interview Ed and Hildegard in 2016. They graciously welcomed me into their home and shared their incredible and inspiring life stories for the Canadian Museum of Immigration in Halifax so that present and future generations will be able to learn about the varied paths people follow in their journey to Canada. Here is a clip from their interview where Ed is talking about how he came to Canada.
https://pier21.ca/content/oral-history-160929ehs-with-ed-and-hildegard-schaefer

Ken and Lucy Fish (Inlaws to Kirsten Schaefer granddaughter)

Entered February 17, 2021 from Guelph

To Hildegard Schaefer and family our deepest condolences on the loss of Edward Schaefer Husband, Father, Grandfather and Greatgrandfather.
We know from many conversations with Kirsten that they were a lovely couple and that everyone enjoyed spending time with them. Our hearts go out to all the family.
Sincerely
Ken and Lucy Fish

My dad taught me chess at a young age, and although I pursued it more seriously, he did have periods of active club and tournament play. He participated in 1996 in the North Bay International Open in Class B. One of his games was judged the best game of the group and he was awarded a beautiful wooden chessboard signed by four of the Grandmasters playing at the event. We were all very proud. Then, when computer chess analysis came along, we could see that the game was riddled with errors made by both players. We had a good laugh about that. How did the Grandmasters miss all that when they analyzed the game?

Ed was very fit and youthful looking. Because Eric and Katherine's births were planned deliveries, Ed took me to the hospital the day before while Klaus had to work. I had to explain to the hospital that Ed was not my husband. He was thrilled to be mistaken for someone so young.

My sweet Opa was a bit of a health nut - literally - as I remember the numerous Costco-sized containers of raw nuts that had a permanent place on his kitchen table. He taught us how to crack open walnuts from a young age and thanks to him, I developed a love for snacking on pistachios. Opa made us giggle when we were younger as he would always eat pizza with a slice of whole grain toast sandwiched on top of each slice. He would chuckle with his hearty belly laugh and say it made the pizza taste better. Opa also loved to make my siblings and me laugh as kids when he'd "accidentally" say onion bums, when referring to the lunch buns. He was so proud of his homemade soup he'd serve me when I would visit from Ottawa. It really was delicious!

We always had really interesting and thoughtful conversations on many subjects during my visits. He was a keen learner and loved expanding his knowledge. In recent years, he started to re-learn Polish, a language he knew when he was a child living in a German community in Poland.

My Opa had a love for exercise and would always say "movement is life" as he scurried off to help my Oma or chop firewood to keep his "sweetheart warm" as he would say. He loved hearing about the team sports I played and would always call me his Olympian. He sure knew how to make someone feel happy with his positive outlook and contagious energy. I hope wherever my Opa is, he's surrounded by his favourite 90% chocolate and persimmons a plenty.

I will always remember Opa’s positive attitude and infectious laugh. I have fond memories of spending time with him chopping endless firewood and cooking steaks. When it was World Cup season, we would watch the games together and cheer on the German team. He never liked to sit through the whole game. He would always be up bouncing around to keep moving. “Motion is lotion” is a phrase he always said with a smile.

Opa loved to tell a story about the time he was studying for an exam and he was certain a particular question would be on the exam. He meticulously prepared for that question. However, to his surprise when he opened the exam the question was not there. He carried on and completed the exam. When he was done, he flipped over the exam and there was the question. So, his advice has always been to read through the full exam…nonetheless he still aced the exam.

Opa was an optimist through and through. He *always* held out for a silver lining and focused on the positive. He believed that our attitudes shape our experiences and that what we put out into the world is what we'd receive back. He was kind to everyone and greeted friends and family alike with a big, welcoming smile. I remember the first time he met Graham, he said (laughing), "and I am the Opa!" He loved making us laugh with silly sayings and phrases. We played Telestrations a handful of times (where players guess the drawing) and he came up with the most ridiculous guesses for the drawings: mummy on a rampage, or his favourite fictional location, Kalipupa. We were all in tears from laughing so hard!

Opa was a big believer in higher education and was so proud of all of his children's and grandchildren's academic accomplishments. He would tell us the story of taking an exam and he forgot to flip the page over, so he missed writing 50% of the test! Learning from his lesson, I made sure to never forget this, and was always certain to flip the page on all my own tests (thanks, Opa!). When I finished my PhD he was so thrilled, "Kirsten, you're a genius!" he would say to me on the phone every time I called. While I'm far from worthy of that title, it made me happy to know that this brought him so much happiness.

There was always music at Oma and Opa's house! I remember spending every Christmas Eve at their house growing up. There were a number of years where we would play Christmas music together as a family. Opa would always be on his accordion, and there would certainly be a few polkas (I remember laughing together at some of the more ridiculous lyrics in those old polkas!).