Irmgard Leroux

Mom grew up in Germany. She went through a lot of trials and tribulations as a child. When she was nine, her dad passed away and she moved to live with her aunt. This was also WWII was times. In her teen years she experienced hunger and poverty. In order to survive the winter she stole coal from the train. She got caught, which turned out to be a benefit later in her life. When she was eighteen she was able to go to school to be a nurse. She lived in Germany for one more year. She was able to get a job in Switzerland and moved there for three years. During that time she moved to the French part of Switzerland and learned to speak French, which was also a benefit to her later in life. As her mother and siblings could not move to Switzerland, she decided to move to the US, but got rejected due to her record. However, Canada accepted her because she spoke French and they suggested she move to Montreal. She found a job as a nurse soon after arriving in Montreal. She met our dad through mutual friends and within two months they were happily married. Life was busy, and after Montreal they moved to Toronto where they had their first two children. When dad joined the military they transferred to Calgary where they had their third child. They moved to Kingston in 1962 and bought a corner store. Dad was able to get a job at Dupont so they sold the store and moved to Bath a year later. They decided to get into farming, so bought a farm in Centerville and got a cow- Betsy. Unfortunately, they brought on a partner and went bankrupt. They bought their second farm in Newburgh in 1969 and slowly built things up again. Mom started nursing again after 10 years of being at home. Eventually they both quit their jobs and became full time dairy farmers. During this time they had their fourth child- surprise! They retired and built a new home where they enjoyed retirement together. Unfortunately dad passed in 2007, but life continued on and mom got to enjoy her 10 grandchildren and lots of great-grandchildren.

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