Herta Hellfritz
1930 - 2026

Mother’s Day was not the same this year.

It is with sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Oma, and great-grandmother, Herta Hellfritz of Edmonton, Alta., and formerly of Rocky Mountain House.

Herta passed away peacefully with family by her side on April 4, 2026, Easter weekend, at Venta Care Centre in Edmonton at the age of 95, only two months short of her 96th birthday.

Herta was the youngest of four children and was born in the Free City of Danzig. In her early twenties in Germany, she trained to become a kindergarten teacher. Her years as a kindergarten teacher remained one of the most memorable parts of her life, and she always loved recalling the children, songs and joyful memories from those days.

Later, Herta trained to become a policewoman. Upon graduation, however, she chose a different path and travelled to Canada in 1958 to marry Gunther Hellfritz, whom she had grown fond of through their cards and exchanged letters.

They were married in Edmonton in 1958. Their first daughter, Petra — who now goes by Jewal — was born in Pacific, British Columbia, where Gunther was working as a telegraph lineman for Canadian National Railways to save money for the farm and farmhouse being built three miles north of Rocky Mountain House and half a mile off the Frisco Road, now known as Cowboy Trail.

Their second daughter, Claudia, arrived the following year, and son Ralph was born three years later in Rocky Mountain House.

While Gunther continued working in Pacific, B.C., Herta raised the children and managed the farm in Rocky. The two girls loved hosting tea parties for the neighbouring children, who were invited over every Sunday afternoon to visit and play games. Every summer, neighbours gathered together to help bring in the crops.

Around 1968, after purchasing the neighbouring farm property, Gunther decided to farm full-time. Herta worked faithfully alongside him while raising the children and caring for the many cows and calves on the farm.
Herta enjoyed baking, cooking and writing letters to relatives and friends in Germany and England. She especially loved welcoming visitors to the farm, pouring coffee and serving cookies, cake, candy and chocolate around the kitchen table.

Tragically, their son Ralph passed away in 1990.

Over the years, the girls began new lives of their own in Calgary and Vancouver. In 2008, when Gunther passed away at the age of 87, Herta sold the farm to a neighbour but continued living independently in the beloved two-storey farmhouse for another year.

She later moved to Westview Lodge, first living in a self-contained one-bedroom suite before gradually transitioning into the main residence when she could no longer cook for herself. Daughters Claudia, now living in Edmonton, and Petra (“Jewal”), now living in Vancouver, visited whenever possible, often enjoying meals together in town or taking in a movie at Rocky Cinemas during their visits.

In 2016, Claudia moved Herta to Edmonton to live at Riverbend Retirement Residence, only six minutes from her home. Residents and care staff quickly grew fond of Herta, who always shared a joke and a smile with her caregivers. She especially loved attending music nights.

In February 2025, Herta unfortunately broke her leg in a fall at the seniors residence. After a three-month stay in hospital, she relocated to Venta Care Centre, a nursing care facility in north Edmonton.

Claudia and local family members continued visiting as often as they could. Sitting together outside in the garden courtyard, basking in the sunshine and listening to the birds chirping, brought back many happy memories.
We extend a warm invitation to old neighbours and friends in Rocky Mountain House to join us for a Celebration of Life for Herta Hellfritz on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at 1 p.m. at Rocky Funeral Home.

A light lunch will be served.

Condolences may be forwarded to www.rockyfuneralhome.ca.

Rocky and Sylvan Lake Funeral Homes and Crematorium, your Golden Rule Funeral Homes, entrusted with the arrangements.