Edith Martha Binczyk

Edith Martha Binczyk, born in Berlin, Germany in 1932 died in Victoria, BC, August 21, 2026

She was predeceased by her mother Anna Burtchen, husband Bernhard Binczyk and her youngest daughter Michele. Edith was much loved and is survived by her eldest daughter Barbara (Peter) and grandchildren Sarah (Matt), Kathleen (Mathieu) and Thomas (Alexandra). Also her great-grandchildren; Carley, Liam and Isobel.

Edith’s childhood was scarred by war and turmoil. She survived Allied bombing and on returning home following evacuation to the Thuringian countryside she found work, aged 14, driving an industrial locomotive hauling away rubble from the wartime ruins of Berlin.

As the Cold War intensified she and her mother moved west to Bremen where she met and married Bernie, a bo’sun in the merchant navy. Edith, too, went to sea as a cabin steward. But then came motherhood and finding herself at home with a toddler and a husband away for months at sea she demanded a change.

The family immigrated to Canada in 1958, settling on Garnet Avenue in Toronto.

Edith worked variously as a cleaner, shop assistant and later in factories making carpets and seatbelts. The family saved and bought 100 acres on the escarpment above Collingwood where Bernie built their home. After his death Edith moved on, eventually settling in Ottawa where she recreated herself as a palliative home-care aide. In retirement she moved to Victoria to be closer to her daughter.

Edith was an accomplished knitter and a creator of impressive needlepoint works. Intelligent and sharp, she was a voracious reader and lover of music, especially opera.

Special thanks to all her caregivers at Marrion Village assisted living and to the staff and aides at Victoria Hospice.

Müde bin ich, geh zur Ruh,

Schließe beide Äuglein zu