Monika Loeschberger

Monika passed away peacefully in her home on All Saints Day, two months after losing her ability to speak and walk. She loved the outdoors, loved cooking for people, and valued family above everything else. Born in rural Austria, she completed a Master’s degree in German and history at the University of Vienna and taught high school for a few years before dedicating herself to being a mother of two. She accompanied her husband, Wolfgang, on many travel adventures into the Canadian wilderness. Her immense patience was manifested in her embroidery, baking, and field work on organic farms.

At the age of 39 she followed Wolfgang's dream to immigrate to Canada and settled in the Bulkley Valley. For many years she delighted hungry people with delicious meals at Burnie Glacier Chalet and various mineral exploration camps. She was an avid hiker; an active member of the BV Backpacker Society and the Friday Girls hiking group. Picking huckleberries, foraging nettles and mushrooms, snapping photos of beautiful wildflowers on Alpine meadows and tending to her bountiful garden filled her summers. Her passion for psychology, self-discovery, and interest in the spiritual led her to attend many workshops and seminars, from Austria to California to Canada. This dedication to self-reflection and understanding of her own psyche inspired countless colleagues, friends, and family members.

She never forgot her roots and experienced waves of homesickness that often called her back to her tight-knit family in Austria. She is survived by her mother, Johanna Bauer (88), and her five siblings, Willi, Sigrid, Christian, Hannelore and Bettina, as well as her husband Wolfgang and her two children Katharina and Alexander. She was a loving Oma to Soleya and Rosie, and was looking forward to a third grandchild in the making. 

A Celebration of Life will be held on March 25th 2023 at Glenwood Hall in Smithers

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