Alverna “Faye” Einwechter Mitchell – the mother of Challenger Motor Freight founder, longtime OTA executive and former OTA chair, Dan Einwechter – passed away surrounded by loved ones on Sunday, January 26, 2025. She was 91.
She passed away peacefully at St. Mary’s Hospital. Having survived 4 bouts of cancer and after suffering with asthma her entire life, she fought valiantly until the end.
Born Alverna Faye Doan on August 15, 1933 in Biggar, Saskatchewan. She moved with her parents, brother Jim and sister Myrna by rail to Plattsville, Ontario in 1936. In Plattsville she spent her formative years, and the family grew to include 2 more sisters, Carroll and Velma Jean. It was while living in Plattsville that she met her first love, Carson Douglas Einwechter. They married in 1951, started a family and eventually settled in New Dundee, Ontario. Sadly Carson’s life ended prematurely in 1961 at the age of 31 due to a congenital heart condition.
To support her young family, which included sons Timothy Douglas, Daniel James and David Carson, Faye tried her hand at many jobs before settling in the real estate industry, where she spent over 30 years as a successful residential agent. She found love again with her second husband, Clarence Franklin (“Sam”) Mitchell, whom she married in 1963. Together they added a fourth son, Peter Franklin, to their family. Sam passed away in 1995 following a bout with cancer.
Faye will always be remembered for her strength, wit, gumption, stamina and a fashionable sense of style. Through the years, Faye enjoyed traveling, particularly casino trips to Atlantic City, Las Vegas and more recently Niagara Falls and Orillia. Most of all, she enjoyed hosting family barbecues and gatherings around the pool at her house in New Dundee.
Faye is survived by her four sons, Tim and his wife, Sabrina, Dan and his wife Caroline, David and his wife Kellie and Peter and his wife Vanessa of Sydney, Australia. She is survived by 16 grandchildren as well as 16 great-grandchildren. In addition to her husbands, Carson and Sam, Faye was also predeceased by her brother Jim, but she is survived by her three sisters, Myrna O’Bright, Carroll Loveday and Velma Jean Johnson, and her husband Ross, as well as many nephews and nieces.
Funeral arrangements are being handled by Henry Walser Funeral Home in Kitchener. A private family service will be planned at a future date.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Faye’s memory to The Canadian Cancer Society, Heart and Stroke Foundationor St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation.
The family would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Natalya Stetsenko, Faye’s caregiver, over the last 2 years. Natalya was a constant companion and made her final days very comfortable.
Please visit www.henrywalser.com for Faye’s memorial.