Obituary of Wilfried Liehr
With heavy hearts we announce that Wilfried Joachim Liehr passed away peacefully and surrounded by family on January 2, 2026, at his home in Vaughan. He was 93 years of age.
Wilfried was born on April 14, 1932, in Breslau, Germany to Willi & Margarete (Ertel) Liehr. His parents had the dream of moving to a tropical wilderness and surviving off the land, so in 1938, they set sail for the jungles of Paraguay with two young children. Life was not easy in this new environment, and before a year had passed, most of the family had contracted typhoid fever. The difficult decision was made to return to Germany, and they caught the last German ship leaving South America, arriving back in Breslau at the outbreak of WWII. Wilfried was forced to grow up fast, and provide for his family when his father was sent off to war. In February 1945, the family fled the incoming Russians, heading west towards Dresden, with their convoy (headed by members of the von Richthofen family) coming under bomb attacks regularly. The family eventually found safety and a new home in Bad Freienwalde, which is where Wilfried met his wife Gertrud Strehlow. They were married in January 1953. Immediately they fled from East Germany, and later that same year they immigrated to Canada as refugees, landing in Montreal and living there for 16 years.
In Montreal, despite the language barrier, Wilfried found initial work as a gardener, but ultimately was employed by Murray Hill Limousine Services Ltd. doing metalwork and building sightseeing busses. Eventually he realized his love of electronics, pursuing this passion by working in electronic repairs for Edward’s Electric. In 1970, as part of a large exodus out of Quebec, he moved the family to Toronto, where he worked as a Computer Operator at CIBC Data Centre. After a few years, he and his wife decided to leave the city and bought Camp Doe-Mis-Co, a Cottage business on Little Doe Lake in Katrine, north of Muskoka. Wilfried and Gertrud ran the business by themselves for almost 10 years. After they sold the business, they built a house on a large property closer to Burk’s Falls where they lived for over 30 years. During those years, he took on work at Rotarco (Lofthouse) in Burk’s Falls doing machine maintenance, and took up his passion for electronics once again with his own business. In 2018, he and Gertrud moved to Hesperus Village in Vaughan.
Wilfried was passionate about electronics, computers, and woodworking, and he could fix anything electronic or metal, coming up with several personal inventions along the way. He could always be found sitting in his spot on the couch, nose in a book, and could regale you in detail about many topics for hours on end. He was very hard of hearing for much of his adult life, and communicating wasn’t always easy, yet he was always eager to share thoughts and discuss science, computers, and history with anyone who would listen. He retained very strong memories of his childhood and life in Germany, and it was remarkable how detailed his stories were. He was a quiet, stoic man, who will be deeply missed.
Wilfried is survived by his daughter Dorothy Liehr (Ralf Wieser) and family: Raymond Wieser, & Eleanor Wieser (Matthew Allen); his son Frank Liehr (Pamela Liehr) and family: Christina Liehr, Bradley Liehr, Lorraine Peters (Kevin Myers), Jayden Peters, Logan Allison, & Haylee Allison; and his sister Roselotte Neumann. Wilfried will also be remembered by the Peters Family, and the Neumann Family. He will also be missed by his extended family in Germany.
He was preceded in death by his parents, and his doting wife Gertrud. A special, heartfelt thank you to those who helped care for Wilfried in his final years including his PSW Jennie, and the Mackenzie Health team. As per Wilfried’s wishes, there will be no funeral or memorial service. Cremation has taken place. A private interment will take place at a later date.
As an expression of sympathy, in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lake of Bays Heritage Foundation, the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, or the Kidney Foundation of Canada. by using the Donations Tab on his home page.
Messages of condolence and memories can be left here on his memorial page.
Uniquely entrusted to eco Cremation & Burial Services Inc.
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