Mathilde Theresia (Kuhn) Stoeger

Mathilde Stoeger, nee Kuhn

April 11th, 1930 – September 23rd, 2021

On September 23rd, 2021, Mathilde Stoeger passed away peacefully with her family by her side at 91 years of age. She was the wife of Leopold Stoeger and the sister of Marianne Feuge and Ursula Kuhn. She is lovingly remembered by her daughter Monika Stoeger and her granddaughters Madeleine and Anneliese Stoeger.

Born in Trier Germany, Mathilde was a childhood World War II survivor who worked hard all of her life. In her early adulthood, she worked as an international telephone operator. She liked to tell the story of how she once connected Elvis Presley through the phone line to his grandmother and that he had been kind and polite during their interaction. Another anecdote that she liked to tell was how she, on one occasion got the day off work to see John F. Kennedy at Champ Elysée in Paris. In addition to her work as a telephone operator, Mathilde spent time working with horses on a farm in Ireland where she became very fond of the animals. When she moved to Canada she worked as a secretary in Toronto.

In the 1960s Mathilde met her husband Leo on a train in Munich. They got married in Toronto in 1964. In July 1969, Mathilde and her husband Leo had their daughter Monika at Women’s College Hospital. Monika was born the day before the moon landing so Mathilde often talked about how special it was to watch the event on TV with her newborn baby. Shortly after the birth of their daughter, Leo and Mathilde moved to their cottage on one-hundred-and-one acres of Kearney Wilderness and built it into their family home.

Mathilde was close to nature and greatly enjoyed outdoor activities such as alpine skiing, horseback riding and camping. She was athletic and particularly talented in track sprinting and running long-jump. The Olympic Champion Jesse Owens was someone who inspired her throughout her life. Mathilde was also a fierce protector of wildlife. She shared a special bond with the moose, racoons, birds, foxes and rabbits living on her property. She also kept a wonderful garden full of the most delicious organic vegetables you could ever eat. Occasionally, Mathilde could be seen driving in her 1974 red Volkswagen Beetle. She had a sense of humor and liked to keep articles or cartoons from the newspaper that made her smile. Mathilde was a caring mother and grandmother. She was incredibly intuitive and wise. She could always be counted on to give sound advice. She will be dearly missed by her family and friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Mathilde’s name to the Canadian Wildlife Federation or to Hospice Huntsville. An outdoor service to celebrate Mathilde’s beautiful life will be held on Sunday October 3nd, 2021 at 3:00 pm at St-Patrick’s church in Kearney where friends and family are welcome to attend.