Elfriede Canann

Elfriede Canann
March 28, 2025
Elfriede Canann "Elfi" died peacefully under the care of a local hospice on March 28, 2025, shortly before her 95th birthday. Elfi lived in Green Valley for a total of 38 years. She was born in Berlin in 1930, where she lived until the outbreak of World War II and the bombing of Berlin by the Americans.
Hitler decided at that time to transfer mothers with children to Poland. Her family was caught fleeing in a convoy between German and Russian forces. Her childhood was cut short, when, at the age of 14, she was separated from her family and became a Russian prisoner of war after their invasion of Poland. She spent almost four years in prison and survived all kinds of atrocities.
After the end of the war, when she was freed, she returned to Germany. She trained as an engraver and met a G.I. whom she married, hoping he would take her to the U.S., because her family couldn't take her in and the housing shortage in Berlin was acute.
Soon they moved to the state of Michigan, and she emigrated to the U.S. After a few years, she divorced her husband since she had to support both of them. She moved to Chicago, where she found work in an electronics factory. Soon, she was promoted to a supervisory position.
She remarried and moved to Newport Beach, CA, where she worked for Rockwell International and Boeing. When her husband retired, they moved to Green Valley, AZ, where the cost of living was more acceptable. They bought a house on La Bellota. She soon joined the Men's Green Valley Garden Club and, after a few years, became president of the Women's Auxiliary.
In the '90s, her husband died of Parkinson's disease. After that, she founded an estate sales company, which she ran from home and became quite successful with. At one point, the Green Valley News printed a two-page article about her, aptly calling her the "queen of real estate sales." During this period in her life, she made many friends.
After 37 years, her home became more difficult to maintain, so she welcomed an offer by a real estate agent to buy it. The proceeds enabled her now to consider La Posada, a high-class retirement home in Green Valley. In October 2024, she managed to move, which required extensive downsizing. But everything important fit into the small apartment. Finally, she could lead a care-free life. She did enjoy her stay there, until, after only four months, she was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. So, she moved again - to the part of La Posada for assisted living 24/7 care, where she died after only two months.
Elfi will be missed by her companion Rudi, but also by many whose lives she touched and enriched in the 70 years she lived in the U.S.A. She has always loved animals and cared for older dogs and cats that needed special medical attention to help them live a good life in their final years.
If you wish to donate anything in her honor, The Animal League of Green Valley or PETA would be an excellent choice.