1980 - 2025
Our hearts are broken with the passing of Sonia Gadtke on July 1, at the age of 44, after a two-year battle with a rare bone marrow blood cancer. Sonia was pre-deceased by her dad, Jens, in 2013, and is survived by her “ ma,” Annelis and brother, Stefan, her “ honey,” Jason, and their two children, Troy and Emmi.
Sonia lived in North Vancouver all her life. She attended Canyon Heights Elementary and graduated from Handsworth. She adored all animals, but really loved dogs! She was athletic and excelled in softball and volleyball through much of her life. Sonia proudly graduated from UBC in 2008 with a Bachelor of Education and has been a teacher on the North Shore ever since.
Sonia met “ her man,” Jason, when she was 27, and five years later, they bought her childhood home from her parents, with plans to raise a family there. Troy and Emmi soon came along, and since then, being a great mother has been Sonia’ s #1 priority. She loved to take the kids on trips, or camping, or local adventures, cookouts, just anything they could enjoy. They were her world!
Her favourite pastime was watching Troy and Emmi compete in their various sports. She always wanted to get involved, be it as a coach/manager, scorekeeper, or even DJ! Sonia also enjoyed being part of the School community and the PAC, and just generally loved being down at Canyon Heights, watching her kids play after school, and visiting with other parents.
Sonia was very social and always wanted to get people together. Some of her most cherished activities were her visits with her cousin Heidi and family on Vancouver Island, Oktoberfest at the Alpen Club, the Funtastic Slo-Pitch Tournament in Vernon every summer, and more recently, trips to Parksville, where she hoped to one day retire.
Sonia’ s Celebration of Life will be held in September, date TBD.
Sonia will be missed immensely, and our lives will never be as rich without her. We love you, Sonia!
