Goertzen girls gone too soon, remembered one year later

It has been one year since a horrific crash took the lives of Sophie and Acacia Goertzen.

Now, family and friends are taking this day to remember the two teens from Roseau River.

In an email to SteinbachOnline, a friend of the family is encouraging the community to drop off flowers at Sophie and Acacia’s final resting place at Roseau River Community Cemetery.

The family friend, who asked to remain anonymous, said this would “encourage the family and friends and assure them that a lot of people throughout Manitoba are still thinking and praying for them and that they will remain on our minds and in our hearts on this sad day.”

On August 8, 2021, the two sisters were crossing Highway 75 when their vehicle was struck by a semi.

Duane and Sylvia Goertzen, the two girls' mother and father, are the Directors of Roseau River Bible Camp. The girls left behind four sisters. Sophie and Acacia were their second and third children.

Roseau River Bible Camp shared a post about a hoodie designed by Acacia before the accident. The camp has been making these hoodies as a way to help remember the girls.

A now-closed GoFundMe page set up for the Goertzen family raised over $77,000 to help with funeral costs and financial stress.