After she retired from being a nurse, Renate moved to Suffern, NY to live close to the Fellowship Community, and for 20 years she served there two days each week. Renate lived out the last years of her life at the Fellowship to age of 89.
Renate was born in the Orangery of the Charlottenburg Castle in Berlin, Germany, on July 20, 1932. Her mother was a kindergarten teacher, her father a professional flutist, who died in Russia during WW2, in 1942, when Renate was only ten years old.
At the age of eight years she moved with her mother and brother Rudolf to Holzhausen, a tiny village in the Frankfurt area. She was a brilliant student, but funds weren’t sufficient to send her to university. Instead, Renate became a nurse. In fact, her first job was as a children’s nurse.
At the age 20 she went to visit a girlfriend in the USA. She never returned from that trip for two reasons: one was that she fell in love with America. The other was that she grew up in Nazi Germany and for that reason didn’t want to remain a German citizen anymore, so she became an American citizen.
Renate first worked in South Bend, Indiana. In about 1962 Renate married, but that marriage didn’t last long as her husband turned out to be violent, so she left him.
Later on she moved to New York, where she had to repeat her exams as a nurse. Here she also studied in the medical sector to obtain a Masters degree. She became the head nurse in the surgical department of the Manhattan General Hospital.
Renate was a likeable person, having a large circle of diverse international friends. During those years she connected with the Fellowship Community, to which she felt very close as her great-uncle Paul Jaerschky was a famous Anthroposophic doctor. She kept close contact with her family in Germany whom she visited regularly.
Renate was an enthusiastic hiker, regularly serving as a guide for hiking tours. She was a passionate flutist, playing the concert flute.
After she retired, she moved to Suffern, NY, to be able to live close to the Fellowship. For 20 years she served there for two days each week.
During her last years she lived in the Fellowship Community as Member. On December 19th 2021, at the age of 89 she died peacefully, surrounded by caring friends.
To make a gift to the Fellowship Community in honor of Renate please visit fellowshipcommunity.org/donate