I was born in Munich in 1950. Eager to leave post-war Germany, Mom, Oma and I immigrated to Canada at the end of 1951 and Mom’s boss, a kind American colonel, gave her the money for our passage. Mom married my stepfather in 1953 and within a few years Alex and Eileen joined the family.With a German Mom, an English Dad and growing up in French speaking Quebec, I was fluent in all three languages by the time I started school. As a teen, I dreamt of becoming an interpreter at the United Nations, but instead, I became a paralegal for a number of years and then spent the last 22 years of my working life in administration at the public library in Red Deer.
Hans and I met on Valentine’s Day in 1972 and five days later, with a promise ring on my finger and marriage on my mind, I nevertheless left to tour Europe with my girlfriend. The year I was planning to travel suddenly seemed far too long and I flew home a few short weeks later. We married that August. Our daughter, Soleena Alethea, is married to Drew who, in a twist, took her last name, so they are both Wiesners. They have no children and live and work in Calgary, about 100 miles south of Red Deer.
Since 1993 Hans and I have travelled extensively, often on cruises, and I think we’re pretty close to having stepped foot on 100 countries. My favorite destination used to be Asia: South Korea, China and Japan. But last year we visited the South Pacific islands and now Bora Bora is #1 on my list!
As for my volunteer work with Rotary, by far the most memorable experience is the first wheelchair delivery in which I participated, to Huatulco, Mexico. We delivered 280 wheelchairs along coastal towns and to hill people, many of whom had never seen a wheelchair and needed to be shown how to use one. Since then we have delivered over 2500 wheelchairs to eight countries. Our oldest recipient was 104. She wept when we lifted her into her chair.
Lolita Joanina Wiesner