BARS, Austra (nee HILDEBRANTS) - Austra Bars was born on February 8, 1920 in Skrunda, Latvia and died on April 29, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, peacefully in her sleep in her 99th year.
She is greatly missed by her children Ivars Bars (wife Rita) and Sandra Upeslacis (husband Alberts); her four grandsons Aleksis Bars, Nikolas Bars, Rolands Bars and Eriks Upeslacis and three step-granddaughters Krista (husband Kriss Brauns, daughter Mila and sons Kurts and Tomass) Upeslacis, Laila (husband Matt Jackson, daugther Isabelle and son Benjamin) Upeslacis and Liga (husband Matiss Kukainis, daughter Minna) Kukaine.
Austra was the oldest of four children and was raised on a farm. After her first year of high school, her father died.
During the high school graduation ceremony in 1940, Austra learned that the Russians had crossed the border to invade Latvia. She experienced the terror of the Russian and German occupations of the Second World War.
During this time, she did her university studies at the Jelgava Agriculture Faculty, where she met a fellow student, Janis (John) Bars, who would become her future husband.
In 1944, just short of completing her final university exam, Austra and her family fled war-torn Latvia for Germany. She enrolled in Gottingen University, where she obtained an undergraduate degree in agriculture in 1948 and a doctorate in 1951. Austra arrived in Canada in 1951, newly married to Janis in a civil ceremony in Germany and also married in a church ceremony in Toronto.
Austra's first job was in the Canadian Breweries Research Division as a research assistant. After several years she became a research chemist. After 23 years, Canadian Breweries closed the research lab and Austra went to work for Desoto Chemicals, Chempak and Kellogg Salada Ltd., subsequently, as an analytical chemist.
In her spare time, Austra was an avid volunteer in the Toronto Latvian community. She was a proud member of the Latvian sorority Spidola, holding numerous executive roles over the years. She sang in the Latvian language choir, "Zile" for 8 years and was a member of the Ladies Auxilliary of the Toronto Latvian Centre for 18 years. She felt incredibly blessed to be married to the love of her life, Janis, for more than 60 years, and to have lived in close proximity to her two sisters, Vera and Melita, who had also immigrated to Toronto and established families.
The trio often visited their younger brother, Arnis, who lived in the United States with his family. Austra was the last surviving sibling. She was known for her remarkable inner strength, confidence, a passion for life, and a great love of being outdoors alongside her husband gardening or taking long walks at the cottage or at home.
A visitation for Austra Bars will be held at R.S. Kane Funeral Home, 6150 Yonge Street, North York, on Thursday, May 3, 2018 from 5 to 7 p.m. The funeral will be held at St. John's Evangelical Latvian Lutheran Church, 200 Balmoral Avenue, Toronto, where Austra attended services regularly all her life in Canada, on Friday, May 4th at 11:30 a.m.
Those who wish to donate, in lieu of flowers are invited to contribute to the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre, 4 Credit Union Drive, Toronto.
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