Obituary of Johanna Rampelt

To view the livestream of the service, please click here.

Johanna passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Thursday, June 26, 2025, at WRHN - Midtown, Kitchener. 

Johanna is survived by her husband of 40 years Friedrich Rampelt and their three children; Bettina (Adam), Kevin (Sarah), and Brandon. Loving sister to Karl (Monika) and Selma and their families.

Predeceased by her parents Karl and Johanna Ziegler (ne. Rampelt) and her in-laws Friedrich and Christina Rampelt.

Biography: Johanna was born on November 11, 1957, in Schaal, Transylvania (Siebenbürgen), Romania. She finished trade school in 1974 and became a seamstress. She found working as a seamstress/tailor in the neighbouring town of Mediasch enjoyable and worked there until she immigrated to Canada. Friedrich (Fritz) and Johanna grew up together in Schaal; going to school together, playing and working the fields and farms, and going to dances with one another. They were engaged in August of 1983 in Schaal and were married the following September 29, 1984, in Canada, at Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Johanna’s first job in Canada was as a seamstress at Forsyth in Kitchener, but with the birth of their three children, Bettina, Kevin and Brandon, Johanna decided to be a stay at home mom, raising her children with Fritz in Waterloo. Throughout the years the family would make several trips back home to Romania and Germany - all the while participating and giving back to their Siebenbürgen/German community where the family are members of the Transylvania Club and Bethel Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Johanna enjoyed cooking and baking- keeping up with traditional recipes, while also looking to create and add new ones to her ever-growing recipe book. She loved to garden - and could always be heard telling Fritz and the kids to ‘get out of her flowers’. A wonderful weekend for Fritz and Johanna meant spending time in the backyard, singing to German Schlager hits, then hosting family dinner. From kitchen dance parties and Oktoberfest celebrations, to making sure family and friends were always fed and had their favourite tortes made for them - her family will miss her smile, her laughter, her hugs and words of wisdom. Mama, deine Liebe wird uns immer begleiten.

Special thanks to the dedicated staff at the Grand River Cancer Center, the ICU staff of 5B, as well as her care team and family physician.

Visitation will be held at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo, on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. Following the visitation, the memorial service will take place in the chapel of the funeral home at 11:00 a.m.

A livestream and recording of the service will be made available on Johanna’s tribute page at www.erbgood.com

Cremation has taken place. A private family interment will be held at Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener.

In lieu of flowers, condolences for the family and donations to the Grand River Regional Cancer Center or Bethel Lutheran Church may be arranged through the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King Street S., Waterloo, at www.erbgood.com