Dr. Imme Askevold
September 9, 1920 ~ February 20, 2017
A unique and unforgettable woman of great strength and energy, Imme passed away at Swan Valley Lodge in Creston, BC, on February 20, 2017 at the age of 96.
She was born in Hamburg, Germany on September 9, 1920 to Karl and Mathilde Hansen. She grew up in Hamburg and studied medicine there, as well as in Freiburg, where she met her future husband, Sigurd Askevold, in a student production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” where they played the roles of Pyramus and Thisbe. Imme recalled bicycling as a medical student amongst the ruins of the bombed-out city of Hamburg during World War II, making house calls to patients. Imme and Sigurd married in 1946 and emigrated to Canada in 1951, spending a year in Toronto before settling in Creston.
Since her German medical degree was not recognized in Canada, Imme kept busy raising three children and managing a large garden and orchard, along with chickens and a goat. She grew and raised most of what the family ate, and was an excellent cook.
Imme was an avid reader and knitter, and enjoyed travelling world-wide. She loved classical music, and was a co-founder of the Creston Concert Society. She loved nature and the outdoors, and was a keen star-gazer. She supported Wildsight as well as other conservation organizations.
Determined to resume her medical practice, Imme attended several review programmes in the USA for foreign medical graduates in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After completing her 2-year medical internship at Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, and passing the final exams, she began practicing as a family physician in Creston in 1974. At the age of 85 she conceded that it was time to retire!
Imme lived a rich and full life, and she will be remembered for her generosity, intelligence, resourcefulness, and her indomitable spirit.
Imme was pre-deceased by her beloved husband Sigurd, in 1998. She is fondly remembered and missed by her children Kirsten (Walsh) of Vancouver, Dee (Keating) and her husband Brian Keating of Calgary, and Ingolf Askevold of Tallahasse, FL; grandchildren Eileen Walsh and her husband Jack Chen of Halifax, NS, Karin Walsh of Vancouver, BC, Erik Askevold of Tallahassee, FL, Stefan Askevold and Monika Askevold of Calgary, AB, and Paul Orgnero of Victoria, BC; great-grandchildren Hansen and Hendrik Chen of Halifax, NS, and Kyra and Kaden Orgnero of Victoria, BC; her sisters Elke Knebel and Ute Froehlich of Hamburg, Germany; and many nephews and nieces in Germany.
Imme’s family wishes to thank Dr. Suzanne Hopkins, the kind and caring staff at Swan Valley Lodge, and Imme’s many compassionate and devoted friends, who helped her in so many ways. Special thanks to Christine and Terje Munkerud, who have been wonderful, generous friends, devoted to her care for many years.
A memorial Celebration of Imme’s Life will be held on Monday June 26, 2017 at 2:00 pm at Rotacrest Hall, 230 19 Ave N, Creston, BC. Interment will follow in Argenta, BC at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Imme’s memory may be made to Wildsight BC, 2-495 Wallinger Ave, Kimberley B.C. V1A 1Z6, www.wildsight.ca