My partner's mother died last night at the nursing home. She was 93.

She immigrated from Canada just after WWII. My partner, was 7 yrs. old when he immigrated at same time.

He found out from the nurses that before she went to bed last night, she and few other nursing home residents, happily sang "Edelweiss", the song from the "Sound of Music". Appropriate, because it is a song of memory (of Germany), longing, love and renewal in a new country since the von Trapp family immigrated to the U.S.

A few hrs. after we found out about the news of her death, we cycled over to a popular French bakery and each had lovely French fruit gourmet tart ..in her memory.

She was an accomplished baker and cook which everyone who knew her skills talks about. My partner's boyhood is of his mother's 1-3 multi-layered tortes or kuchens for every Sunday meals... Mocha ganache filling, hazelnut crumb, handmade marizpan, ..she could make puff pastry..from scratch. Not even many Iron Chefs can do this sort of thing. It's a lost art. Baking and cooking was her creative outlet and she was happiest creating in this way.

Ironically she was visited by her German relatives just last week in their trip to western Canada. In her mild dementia, she kept wanting to show her "home" and offer refreshments.

She died peacefully and was actually quite active and social the day before. Yesterday and today it has been beautifully sunny and summer-like.