Owner of Georg Biernath Masonry
1938-2022

Surrounded by the love of his immediate family and strengthened by the Last Rites of his catholic faith given by his parish priest, Georg passed away peacefully on May 19, 2022 at the age of 83. Predeceased by his parents, Georg and Anna, he will be dearly missed and forever in the hearts of his devoted wife Brigitte and his three children, Karl (Oonagh), Kristine (Chris) and Markus as well as his loving brothers Friedhelm and Karl-Heinz and their families and relatives in Germany.
Georg “Opa” will also be cherished in the memories of his grandchildren Raphaël, Gabriel, Kurtis and Cody (Courtney) as well as his former wife and dear friend Madeleine and her extended Groulx family.

Georg was born in Gelsenkirchen, West Germany in 1938.

As a young man and in his mid-teens Georg, after witnessing the end of the war, decided to pursue a career as a bricklayer. On his 19th birthday, he took a train to Bremerhaven and boarded the SS Skaubryn ship to Canada where he, like many Europeans during the 1950s heading for North America, became a landed immigrant. Without any knowledge of the English language, Georg managed to secure several odd jobs as a bricklayer in Ottawa. He quickly earned a reputation as a stone mason because of his love for the art of working with natural and fabricated stone. Through word of mouth his reputation for constructing aesthetically pleasing stonework grew and he gained many contracts, contacts, and opportunities to improve his English.

As Georg embarked on building his dream of a family and home in Canada, he found companionship with many other German immigrants, who shared his love of singing in the Concordia male choir of Ottawa. There, he formed lasting bonds with several families that made the same journey of migration as he had done. Over the years he established a deep engagement with his parish, St. Albertus and the "Maennerverein".

Georg learned and enjoyed the game of golf with his friends and travelling to cottages and going to Myrtle Beach with his family. His love for singing with his choir and art-making through masonry continued until his recent passing.

People in his neighbourhood and those for whom he worked will continue to appreciate his legacy as a master stonemason. Even in his later years when he was physically limited by declining health, he never abandoned his proud response whenever something needed attention around the house: "leave it, I fix it". His family members all remember that expression with gratitude and sorrow for his loss.

A Requiem/Funeral Mass will be celebrated on June 8, 2022 at 11 AM at St. Albertus Church, Parkdale Ave. followed by a reception in the parish hall. Cremation has taken place and internment will be announced at a later date.

The family thanks Msgr. H. Feichtinger for his pastoral support and spiritual guidance, also the EMS and ER teams and especially the health care team of the ICU at Queensway-Carleton Hospital for their compassionate and loving care.

We believe that because of Georg’s love of building houses and as a faithful member of St. Albertus Church, donations in his memory should be made to “Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa” or to the “St. Albertus Parish/Elevator Fund”.

“Wir sind nur Gast auf Erden"