Obituary of Bertha Witt

It is with great sadness that we announce that Bertha Witt passed away peacefully at her home at Oliver Lodge on Thursday, August 8, 2019 at the age of 87.
Bertha was born in Weichseldorf Poland on January 15, 1932. She was born to Christian and Martha Ratz and was the youngest of 15 children.  During the war in Poland, Bertha was separated from her family from 1945-1948. When she was 13 years old she was reunited with her Mother and Sister, her father remained missing and it was presumed that he had been killed in the war. Bertha and Oswald were neighbours when they were children and as they grew older their love grew into a quite the love story when Bertha immigrated to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in 1952 with her mother and she awaited the love of her life, Oswald Witt who she would then marry in September 1953. She started her working career at Arthur Rose cleaners and helped save up so that her and new husband could have a home of their own when they married.  They resided in Saskatoon their whole life together celebrating 65 years of marriage until his passing in October 2018. They were so in love and stood beside each other. She often said “we work together, that makes work get done faster, then we can both relax.”
Oswald and Bertha had 3 daughters: Dorothy Witt - Brenda (Raymond) Kingston, their family - Cory (Melisa) Winslow - Christine (Derek) Rhode - Rayleen (Cory) Valentine - Ryan (Jennifer) Kingston - Gillian (Darcy) Olson - Tim (Bobbi Jo) Winslow - Kirsten (Mike) Gaza;  Violet (Ennis) Sauer their family - Lisa Sauer (Travers Stephan) and many great grandchildren.  Bertha was predeceased by her Husband, her parents, her in-laws, her brothers and sisters, her Grandson Jason Sauer and her Granddaughter Cheryl Sauer.
Bertha worked at the University Hospital for many years in the dietary department.  She enjoyed every minute of her work delivering meal trays to the patients along with a toot-a-loo and a smile. Bertha was a caring, friendly and funny lady who was an amazing cook, baker, gardener and seamstress. Bertha loved to cook for everyone and just wanted everyone to eat “Just Eat” was often heard coming from Bertha or Oswald. Everyone was welcome and no one left the Witt household hungry.  Bertha enjoyed a good game of Elfer Raus, Kaiser or almost any board game with her family and friends and was such a good sport, she would never get angry or offended if someone accused her of holding cards, she was too busy getting snacks most of the time and it wasn’t her fault at all.  She loved to sew matching dresses for herself and her girls when they were younger and was often complimented on her excellent sewing skills and asked to sew dresses for weddings which she never refused. Bertha always made time for her family and friends, she would never turn anyone away even though she was busy you would never know it when you were with her, she would always have time for you. She loved to visit, she could talk on the phone for hours at a time with her daughters or her friends and family. Bertha would say hello to anyone she would meet in the mall or anywhere she would go, if you didn’t know her she was quick to introduce herself. She continued that as long as she was able, even after entering the home she would introduce herself, it didn’t take long and the staff and residents and their families would all know her and say hello Bertha as we walked the hallways. Bertha was always excited to host family gatherings where she prepared days ahead to make sure everything was perfect, and perfect it was, she would be cooking and baking everyone’s favorites, buns, piggy ears, potato salad, and the list can go on and on, everything she cooked was spectacular. The only complaints were, that everything tasted so good and everyone ate too much. Bertha took great pride in being a homemaker and had a pristine home.  Unfortunately 8 years ago Bertha was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease. As difficult as this disease was for her and her family she would always have a smile on her face whenever she had visitors or for any of the staff that cared for her.  She will always be remembered for her giving heart and will be missed dearly by her family and friends and all who knew her.