Order of Sancta Barbara - Winner 2005
Elsie KossatzSudbury, ON
"In recognition of over 50 years of volunteer service in mining communities and for the creation of a bursary program for mining engineering students at Laurentian University.”
Elsie Kossatz came to Canada in 1946 as a war bride. While her husband Eric was at Uniersity of Toronto, she worked at the university bookstore. Upon his graduation in 1953, they moved to Lively, Ontario where their daughter Anne was born. Community involvement included establishing a patient library at Sudbury memorial hospital; serving on the Auxiliary Board; active in the IODE; a Provincial Councillor for Sudbury, and involvement with church and school. Subsequent to moving to Thunder Bay in 1970, she attended Lakehead University receiving a Diploma in Library Science.
Back in Sudbury by 1973, she attended Laurentian University and graduated with a BA; served on the Board and Senate of the University as well as several committees; served on the Sudbury Library Board and, following relocation to Southern Ontario, served on the Oakville Library Board. Eric died in 1989 and a Scholarship was established – the Mason C. F. Kossatz Memorial Scholarship at Laurentian University for Mining Engineering students. She has since served on the Advisory Board for TV Ontario; joined WAMIC where she served as Treasurer for three years. She now lives next door to her daughter and her husband in Mississauga.