Harry Ernest Liedtke

Obituary For Harry Ernest Liedtke

(November 13, 1927 - July 05, 2024)

It is with sadness that we inform you of the passing of Harry Ernest Liedtke of Kelowna B.C. Harry passed away on July 05, 2024, after a courageous battle with cancer.

He is survived by his wife of 70 years Gisele, his son Keith (Elizabeth), his son Ian, and his daughter Suzanne Lawrence (William). Harry also leaves behind his grandchildren Channin, Alex (Nora), Christopher (Kelly), Jonathon, and his great-grandchildren Asha, Madison, Isabel and Abigail. Harry is also survived by his sister Christina Schilling (Ray), and was predeceased by his Father Fritz Liedtke and his mother Charlotte Liedtke.

Harry was born in Berlin Germany on November 13, 1927. At the age of 9, he accompanied his father to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin to watch track & field competition at the XI Olympiad. That was the year the famed Jesse Owens of the United States won 4 gold medals. The experience of being a young spectator at that famous time in history, instilled a lifelong interest in track and field. As a youth, Harry was one of Stuttgart's top performing decathletes and 100 meter sprinters. He was also a top performing table tennis player. Harry spent the early part of his young childhood in Hamburg. At the age of 10, he moved to Vaihingen on the outskirts of Stuttgart, where he spent his formative school years. During that time, Harry saw the horrors of WW2 through the eyes of a schoolboy, living through the nightly bomb runs and destruction that comes with war.

At the end of WW2 after graduating high school, Harry relocated to Frankfurt, where he enrolled in college studying Journalism and Language Translation. Upon graduation, Harry was hired by the U.S Airforce where he was based at Rhein Main Airport - the Military Airlift Command, working in the Public Relations Dept. This was followed by Harry successfully applying for a position with the Associated Press wire service as a photo Editor, based in Frankfurt.

As a young man at the age of 24, the time came where after witnessing the destruction and hardships of war and the struggle to rebuild Germany, Harry decided to immigrate to Canada. Arriving in Montreal in the fall of 1951,as a newcomer to Canada, jobs were scarce. Media outlets were not interested in hiring a brand new immigrant from Germany as a journalist. Harry started his working career in Canada, landing his first job selling textiles for a Montreal importing firm.

It was at this time that Harry met the first love of his life, Norma Sala, a beautiful young lady from New York. They were married in 1952. Tragically, Norma died giving birth to their first son Keith in March 1953. In a new country with nobody to take care of his baby son, Harry through friends of family back in Germany, found a young lady who wanted to learn English, and was happy to come to Canada to be an au pair to his newborn child. Over the ensuing months, the au pair arrangement blossomed into a romance. Harry and Gisele relocated to Toronto and were married on July 23,1954.

Upon their arrival in Toronto, the happy couple settled in Don Mills, where Harry started a career selling Life Insurance. With the arrival of a second son (Ian) and daughter (Suzanne), the young growing family quickly out-grew their small Don Mills apartment, and moved to a house in Pickering. In 1963, Harry and Gisele purchased the family's first brand new home in Stouffville, where the family enjoyed the experience and innocence of growing up in 'small town' Ontario, just north of Toronto.

From a young age, Harry's passion had always been his fascination with 'flying machines'. As a young boy in Germany, he saw Zeppelin Hindenburg fly over his home, His interest in airplanes grew after experiencing a scenic 20 minute sightseeing flight in a BFW m. 20 Messerschmitt which held 10 passengers, and his thirst for aviation grew when he worked for the US Air Force during the Berlin Airlift.

Harry's dream of being part of the aviation sector came true in 1958, when he successfully applied for a job with BOAC (the predecessor to British Airways). His first position in the reservations department, developed into a successful career with a major airline. Harry's responsibilities with the airline grew as he progressed from the reservations department to the position of Sales Representative, cultivating market share with Travel Agent and Tour Operator partnerships across Ontario. He ultimately become the British Airways District Sales Manager (DSM) for Ontario. One highlight from his early years with BOAC, was flying on the inaugural first passenger jet flight from Toronto to London England on a Comet 4. After a very successful career with the airline in Ontario, Harry took on the challenge of helping British Airways open routes to Western Canada and accepted the position of Sales Manager Western Canada, based in Vancouver. After helping the airline obtain flying rights to Vancouver, Harry finished his career with British Airways with management positions in Calgary and in Ottawa. Harry always felt he was a lucky man to work in an industry that gave him the opportunity to travel the world - and yes, "fly in an airplane"! After 29 successful years with British Airways, Harry decided to retire at the age of 60. During his time based in Western Canada, Harry and Gisele had become enchanted with the Okanagan wine country. They decided on Kelowna as their retirement destination, purchasing a home with a large sundeck, affording a panoramic view of Lake Okanagan and the backdrop of mountains.

After retiring, Harry put his journalist skills to work and wrote several books, all self-published, covering many genres from humour to history - one book entitled 'A Childhood Infatuation' which chronicled his love of 'flying machines'.

After all - during his lifetime, Harry witnessed the progression of aviation from Zeppelin Hindenburg, to the supersonic Concorde and man landing on the moon!

In addition to writing, Harry was a talented painter with water colours, with many of his paintings adorning the walls of his home.. He also enjoyed gardening. The fruit trees and vegetable garden on his large lot, produced a prolific crop of vegetables and fruit, keeping him busy during harvest time in his canning kitchen. He was also very proud of many landscaping projects, especially his prize dahlias, and gorgeous pergola with flowering wisteria, blanketing his relaxing patio and koi pond.

As a member of the Bahai Faith, Harry was a very spiritual man, contributing many historical articles and translations to the Canadian Bahai Community. He also wrote a book entitled 'A Wayfarer of Two Worlds', which chronicles a 75 year history of the Bahai Faith.

Most important to Harry were his family. Harry and Gisele enjoyed almost 40 years of retirement before Harry passed away just short of their 70th wedding anniversary. He was happiest with his family around him and will be sadly missed.