Maria Klara Ledergerber (1937 – 2024)

Maria Ledergerber was born on a dairy farm in Andwil, Switzerland. She was the fifth of six children and came to Canada in 1964 to join an older brother, Beat, in Beaver Creek, Yukon. Maria and her daughter Heidi moved to Dawson in 1978 so Heidi could attend high school. Maria felt closely related to nature, both wild and cultivated. She trekked in the Ogilvie Mountains, ski-camped on the frozen rivers, and learned about the plants and birds of her adopted home. She nurtured a bountiful harvest of flowers and vegetables in her garden as a work of art. At age 86, she was still chopping firewood and tending her wood cook stove.¹⁾