The Elim Connection, April 2023

MISTERIOSO
MORTE!
WRITTEN BY
SUSAN GREEN,
RESIDENT CONTRIBUTOR
BEHIND
THE COVER
It all began when several Fleetwood residents
and staff attended the opening night of Bella
Morte’s new Italian restaurant. The guests had
barely started eating the Prima Piatta—a delicious
tomato basil bruschetta—when Detective Di
Formaggio announced that the body of Signor
Ickbread (the chef of a rival restaurant) had been
found, dead in the pantry! And so began the fi rst
ever Murder Mystery Dinner at Elim Village.
The fourteen dinner guests (ahem, suspects) are
dressed to look their part: the glamorous Bella
Morte herself (played by Clara Atagi), Pavlotti
(an opera singer), Mario Carta (a plumber played
by Pastor Lorin), Mayor Fiasco, Michael Angelo
(an artist), Francisco Benedicto (a monk played
by Pastor Bob), Don Canneloni (a respectable
businessman), and seven others. Plus some
innocent bystanders there to observe the evening.
The 14 suspects learn that the murder took
place between 8:00 and 8:15pm. The rounds of
accusations and claims of innocence begin, as Mayor
Fiasco admits he pulled a few strings to help Signor
Ickbread open his rival restaurant. Could the Mayor
be guilty? He claims to have a foolproof alibi, as do
the other suspects.
After much deliberation, it was concluded—and
proved correct—that the perpetrator was none
other than Don Cannelloni (aka, resident John Kraan
from The Diamond.) Playing the part of a respectable
businessman, wearing tuxedo suit, crisp white shirt
bib and black bow tie, he fl ashed his shiny cuffl inks
and expensive watch, fi nishing the look with a red
rose buttonhole and fat cigar. But behind the scenes
he was a well-known crime boss, and now was found
out! Questa Canaglia! His motive? Ickbread apparently
had owed him a considerable amount of money.
A big thank you to all the staff and residents who
participated in this memorable evening. The
costumes and Italian accents were entertaining, and
the food and table decor, the best!
“I’m so at home here,” shares Christel Dreger,
an Independent Living resident at Elim Village
Fleetwood. And home is the perfect word to
describe it.
Christel was featured on the 2022 December
edition of The ELIM Connection. The people you
don’t see sitting beside her in the photo are two
other residents—Eleonore Kirlik and Ursula
Truderung, Christel’s sister and sister-inlaw.
And somewhere else in the village, likely
in his cozy suite in the Carmanah, is Gerhard
Truderung—Christel’s brother and Ursula’s
husband. “My siblings and I were always
close,” mentions Christel, “It’s very special
to live near each other again.”
The reason for their close bond is due to what the
three of them endured together as siblings—war,
their father’s passing, losing all of their possessions,
and fl eeing to Canada as teenagers. By no means
was their childhood easy, but they had each
other for support, guidance, and the best kind
of medicine—laughter. They remained close as
the years passed, but they also moved away, got
married, and settled into their own lives. “Who
knew we’d all end up together again,” Christel adds.
Left to right: Christel, Gerhard, Ursula, and Eleonore
“Kurt was looking forward to coming to ELIM,”
Christel shares, “But he passed away the Sunday
before our move.” Moving to ELIM on her own
was never part of the plan, but in the end she
wasn’t alone. A year prior, Gerhard and Ursula
had also moved to Fleetwood from Sechelt, and
together with Eleonore, they provided Christel
with the same support, guidance, and laughter
they had as children.
Despite her loss, Christel sees the timing of her
move as a blessing. “It was a good thing I moved,”
she adds, “I always have someone to play bridge
with, like Anne Moss…Siegfried Goliath lives
here and he was Kurt’s fi rst friend when he came
to Canada…the Karius’ are also good friends of
mine, and Willi Strelau too!” And the list of her
many connections continues.
In 2014, Christel placed her name on Fleetwood’s
waitlist after her sister, Eleonore, moved into a
suite in the Kootenay. Christel and her husband,
Kurt, weren’t ready to leave their home in White
Rock just yet, but eight years later, a move for them
became critical, as Kurt required more care.
Living within the same 20-acre campus allows
Christel to go for weekly walks with her family
members. If there’s a holiday or birthday coming
up, you’re sure to fi nd them celebrating together
too. “It feels like a miracle that we all live together
again,” says Christel. “I can’t have it any better.”
Una Cornetto aka Ank Fischer
Bella Morte aka Clara Atagi
Mayor Fiasco aka Mike Green
SPRING 2023 THE ELIM CONNECTION 17