January 8, 1927 - October 16, 2018
Bruno Laub died in Creston at age 91 after a brief illness. He was born in Forst, Germany, to Heinrich and Maria Laub.
Bruno worked as a mechanical draftsman for Siemens Bruchsal before entering the Air Force to become a glider pilot. He left training to care for his mother, who was dying of cancer, escaping authorities by hiding at home for 3 months until she died. He then reported for duty on January 6, 1945, two days shy of his 18th birthday. Bruno received minimal infantry training before entering active duty on the front lines. He survived by surrendering to the Americans on April 5, 1945, but was a P.O.W. in France until 1948.
Bruno immigrated to Canada in 1951, with just 60 cents in his pocket. He found work as a lumberjack in Quebec, then worked in construction as he moved west. "Bruno the Bricklayer" loved to work. A gifted stonemason, he was the hardest worker we've ever known.
Bruno married Wanda Miller in Calgary on June 30th, 1954. They lived in Alberta for several years before settling in Creston BC. in 1964, where they raised four children. They loved spending time with family and friends, enjoying good food and wine, gardening, sailing at Sandpoint, swimming in the Goat River, traveling, reading, listening to music, and playing chess, which he played until the day he died.
After a long and incredible life, Bruno had hundreds of stories to tell- funny, heartbreaking, amazing stories-about growing up in Germany, surviving WW II, living in post-war France, working in Canada, and more. He was a great storyteller with a great sense of humor. We will miss hearing him tell those stories, but we miss him even more.
He was predeceased by his brothers and sisters, daughter Jana, and granddaughter Lisa.
Bruno is survived by Wanda, his loving wife of 64 years; 3 children Charmaine, Mark, and Michelle; 7 admiring grandchildren Matthew, Ryan, and Loriann from California, Chris, Laura, Eric, and Andrew from Washington; and 3 beautiful great-granddaughters, Kyra, Lenora, and Evelyn.
A Celebration of Life was held Saturday, October 20, at the Creston Baptist Church. We're grateful to all the family and friends who attended and sent flowers. Special thanks to the Karountzos and Coleman families for their love and support for our family during this difficult time.