Marlies Schoenefeld, a passionate artist, naturalist, and adventurer known for her deep connection to the natural world and her community activism, died April 5, 2026, at her home in Sudbury, Ontario. She was 87. Her passing followed a stroke complicated by a chronic heart condition.
Born Maria Elisabeth Schäfer on February 28, 1939, in Beuren, Germany, Schoenefeld’s early years were marked by the upheavals of World War II. She grew up in a farming village in eastern Germany, where she learned practical skills at a young age. The war left a lasting impact on her family; her 12-year-old brother was accidentally killed near the end of the conflict by an American tank. In the difficult postwar years, her father endured three years of slave labor under Soviet captivity and later escaped to West Germany. In 1952, before the Berlin Wall was erected, Schoenefeld and her family fled East Berlin, eventually reuniting with her father in northern Germany.
Seeking broader horizons, she learned English and worked as a nanny in London at 18. A correspondence with a family in Southern Ontario led to her immigration to Canada in 1959. She married Dieter Schoenefeld that same year in a private ceremony near Niagara Falls. The couple had one son, Klaus Peter, born in 1962.
After Dieter secured an engineering position with Inco, the family moved to the Sudbury area in 1968. Schoenefeld completed her high school education through correspondence courses before earning a Bachelor of Science in biology from Laurentian University in 1973. Following work-related relocations to California and Guatemala in the mid-1970s, the family returned to Sudbury, where Schoenefeld became involved in environmental restoration efforts, including large-scale tree planting during the city’s ecological recovery.
Schoenefeld’s love of nature was reflected in both her outdoor pursuits and her art. She and her husband traveled extensively, exploring six continents, but their fondest memories were tied to Killarney Provincial Park in Ontario. There, Schoenefeld painted many landscapes, cultivating a lifelong connection with the region’s wilderness.
Her artistic practice became especially meaningful after the sudden death of her son Peter at age 24 from a heart condition she had also faced. Painting the natural surroundings they had shared helped her cope with grief and preserve his memory.
In addition to her artistic work, Schoenefeld was a dedicated environmental advocate. She co-founded the Sudbury Naturalists, contributed to major scientific projects such as the Ontario Bird Breeding Atlas and the Atlas of the Mammals of Ontario, and participated as an observer for the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey.
Known for her meticulous nature and high standards, she remained physically active late into life, engaging in kayaking, hiking, and snowshoeing regularly until shortly before her stroke. She is survived by her husband Dieter. Schoenefeld died peacefully at home, surrounded by the natural world she cherished.