Beloved grandmother, proud German, world traveler

Eva Soelter, beloved oma, mom and friend, died June 18, 2017 after a brief struggle with pneumonia and lung disease. She was 83.

She was born February 7, 1934 in the small village of Malitsch, in Silesia, Eastern Germany and fled with her family to escape the Russian occupation after World War II.  The family eventually settled in the town of Wittmund on the North Sea coast in the Province of Ostfriesland, Germany, where in her early twenties she met the man who would become her husband, Wilfrid (Wil) Soelter.

She emigrated to Sault Ste. Marie, Canada in 1955 to marry Mr. Soelter. Soon they had two sons, Peter and Fred. In 1961 the family emigrated from Canada to Southern California, settling in Ontario and later Upland, where she loved her view of Mt. Baldy.

Ms. Soelter loved her family and friends in Germany and Southern California, in Upland and Vista, and at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Claremont and Claremont Manor. She especially loved going out for drives in her Lincoln, even if just to In-N-Out Burger or shopping, her family shared.

She made it her life’s mission to maintain her relationships with her European family and to pass the German language and family connections on to her children and grandchildren, all of whom have visited with family in her homeland and have welcomed German relatives into their homes in Southern California.

Ms. Soelter loved traveling and cruises and visited all seven continents, including her many trips home to Germany. It was hard to name a country she had not seen, her final adventure being a European river cruise from Amsterdam to Prague, which she completed in May.

She will be missed and remembered as a beloved mother and grandmother and a good friend.

Ms. Soelter is survived by her sons, Peter (and spouse, Cheri) and Fred; and her beloved grandchildren, Katrina, Karl, Nik and Alex.

A celebration of Ms. Soelter’s life will be held July 15 at 1:30 p.m. at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Claremont, with a reception following at 3 p.m. at Manor Hall at Claremont Manor. Please RSVP to psoelter@earthlink.net or (626) 578-1127. 

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to either Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at egoodshepherd.org or to the Claremont Manor Foundation at claremontmanor.org.