Erika Jaschinski, nee Bott, was born March 18, 1943 in Gelsenkirchen, Westphalia, Germany one day after her husband of 53 years, Ernst Wilhelm Jaschinski, who was born in the same hospital. Erika outlived her father Clemens, mother Maria, brothers Josef and Werner, and sisters, Annelise, Mia and Lucy. Erika was the youngest of eight surviving siblings and her brother Franz called her the angel of the family.

From an early age, Erika exhibited a strong work ethic helping her family during summer breaks from school she would pick potatoes to assist her family.  Graduating school at 14 she became a seamstress working in a shirt factory where she learned the trade of sewing.  For most of her life she applied her talents and skill making pieces of fabric and thread into beautiful bespoke clothes, the best Carnival and Halloween costumes for friends and family.  Erika enjoyed dances held at the local dance hall on Saturday nights where she met Ernst and they enjoyed many years of dancing together. They married in 1964 and immigrated to Calgary, Canada with Erika's brother Franz Bott, sister-in-law Luise Bott with whom they remained lifelong best friends. They booked passage on Holland America Westerdam ship on a transatlantic cruise and arrived in Montreal, Canada to board a train to Calgary.

Erika's work ethic and great people skills provided a foundation that would serve her well starting a new life in a new country. Her first job in Canada was working nights cleaning offices with Louise at their cousin's office cleaning business and learning English during the day. In her thirties, She decided on a career in retail and convinced the manager of People's Jewelers, in the local mall, to hire her on as a sales clerk. Erika trained and became a certified diamond expert. She was awarded best salesperson across Canada multiple times and continued her more than 25 year career in the US, when they relocated to Clackamas, OR, working for Zales Jewelers and Crown Jewelers until her retirement. Her accomplishments at work and in her personal relationships were due to the magical way she made everyone she met feel special and lighter in spirit.

Erika made lifelong friends easily with her warmth, charm and sense of fun. She enjoyed having large gatherings of friends and family to celebrate Oktoberfest, Christmas, Birthdays or just a casual backyard gathering on the weekends. Everyone loved her hospitality, the great food from grilled German sausages, grilled salmon, apple strudel and kipferl were her specialties.

Erika enjoyed traveling with family and friends to Hawaii, Mexico, Australia, Germany and England. One of her greatest adventures was walking a portion of the Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage trail, in Spain, with her eldest sister Annelise.

Erika lived life to the fullest with great joy and energy. She was generous of spirit with friends, family and anyone who wanted to join in the fun. Erika was a lifelong animal lover caring for many family pets through the years. She always carried treats in her jacket pockets for the neighborhood dogs on her daily walks.

Ernst was the love of her life and they were a great team. Erika was always beautifully attired, elegant but not frivolous. She was a supportive and loving mother, a wise mentor and fun loving companion; teaching independence and resiliency to her only daughter Susan. Erika loved and admired her son-in-law, Daryl Golinsky, and they remained close for over 30 years.

Erika and Ernst relocated to Orlando, FL ten years ago as his health began to decline and they could be closer to Susan and Daryl. She was a great care giver to Ernst until his passing in 2017.  Sadly, Erika was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease soon after Ernst died and the last four years have been difficult for her. Yet she managed to remain sweet and kind through the challenges of the disease and charmed her care givers in memory care.

Erika was beautiful of heart, sweet and strong of spirit and very much loved through all the phases of her life. She will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Erika is survived by daughter Susan Golinsky, son-in-law Daryl Golinsky, her brothers Franz and Helmut and sister-in-law Luise, and many beloved nieces and nephews in Canada and Germany.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in Erika's name to one of the following organizations:

The ASPCA : https://secure.aspca.org

Alzheimer's Association : https://www.alz.org/