1929
Erika
2019
Erika Bierschwale
June 6, 1929 — June 15, 2019
On the morning of June 15, 2019 Erika Bierschwale of Newtown Square PA passed away at the age of 90.
Erika was born in the Dellbrück section of Köln (Cologne) Germany to Maximilian and Maria Hermann. Along with her family, Erika endured the hardships of growing up in a city ravaged by World War II. She was an excellent student and upon graduation began a career in banking, a field that rewarded her great attention to detail. Seeking adventure in what was meant to be an extended visit, Erika travelled to New York to visit her cousins Lilo and Teddy Tobar, who fled Köln earlier amid the impending Holocaust. Erika quickly fell in love with New York and decided to stay. She found both work and her future husband Manfred while employed at Lufthansa Airlines. Erika and Manfred were married in Hermannsburg, Germany in 1960, and began their married life in Queens, NY. They later moved to Glen Head, NY to raise a family in the bucolic suburbs of Long Island's North Shore.
Erika continued to enjoy working closer to home, first at Menrad Optical and later at National Security Systems. She and her family were joined by her mother Maria for 13 years in Glen Head. Keeping up German traditions was important to Erika, and she and the family travelled frequently to visit relatives and friends in Germany. Köln remained in her heart her entire life, and Erika specifically enjoyed the festivities around the Kölner Karneval. As parents, Erika and Manfred shared their wanderlust with their children and travelled extensively throughout the world together, reaching every continent short of Antarctica. They moved to Newtown Square, PA in 2004, near their children's families, to be attentive and loving grandparents. Devotion to family was paramount to Erika, and she made this abundantly clear to those around her.
An avid and accomplished knitter, Erika enjoyed creating wearable art for her family. She continued knitting even as her macular degeneration limited her eyesight, and in recent months completed an outfit for a family member's newborn. With her knitting circle, she produced many blue and pink knit caps for the local hospital's maternity ward.
A lover of animals, Erika had a particular appreciation for dogs. She recollected often about the favorite dog of her youth, a wire-haired dachshund named Anke and about the good-natured cocker spaniel named Buffy who was the beloved pet she shared with her own children. Her respect for animals extended to concerns about the welfare of wildlife in Africa, and Erika enthusiastically supported the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Erika is survived by her husband Manfred Bierschwale, daughter Claudia Muller (Mark), son Ralph Bierschwale (Debby), and grandchildren Talia Bierschwale, Max Muller, Derek Bierschwale, and Stefan Muller, as well as a wide circle of loving friends and family in Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany.
There will be a memorial service in Erika's memory on August 17, 2019. 11 am at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 415 E. Athens Avenue, Ardmore PA 19003.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), https://support.worldwildlife.org, 1250 Twenty-Fourth Street, N.W., Washington, DC
20037, or to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF), www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org, 230 E. Ohio Street, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60611, in Erika's memory.
Arrg. by: The Donohue Funeral Home, Newtown Square, PA
610-353-6300
Erika was born in the Dellbrück section of Köln (Cologne) Germany to Maximilian and Maria Hermann. Along with her family, Erika endured the hardships of growing up in a city ravaged by World War II. She was an excellent student and upon graduation began a career in banking, a field that rewarded her great attention to detail. Seeking adventure in what was meant to be an extended visit, Erika travelled to New York to visit her cousins Lilo and Teddy Tobar, who fled Köln earlier amid the impending Holocaust. Erika quickly fell in love with New York and decided to stay. She found both work and her future husband Manfred while employed at Lufthansa Airlines. Erika and Manfred were married in Hermannsburg, Germany in 1960, and began their married life in Queens, NY. They later moved to Glen Head, NY to raise a family in the bucolic suburbs of Long Island's North Shore.
Erika continued to enjoy working closer to home, first at Menrad Optical and later at National Security Systems. She and her family were joined by her mother Maria for 13 years in Glen Head. Keeping up German traditions was important to Erika, and she and the family travelled frequently to visit relatives and friends in Germany. Köln remained in her heart her entire life, and Erika specifically enjoyed the festivities around the Kölner Karneval. As parents, Erika and Manfred shared their wanderlust with their children and travelled extensively throughout the world together, reaching every continent short of Antarctica. They moved to Newtown Square, PA in 2004, near their children's families, to be attentive and loving grandparents. Devotion to family was paramount to Erika, and she made this abundantly clear to those around her.
An avid and accomplished knitter, Erika enjoyed creating wearable art for her family. She continued knitting even as her macular degeneration limited her eyesight, and in recent months completed an outfit for a family member's newborn. With her knitting circle, she produced many blue and pink knit caps for the local hospital's maternity ward.
A lover of animals, Erika had a particular appreciation for dogs. She recollected often about the favorite dog of her youth, a wire-haired dachshund named Anke and about the good-natured cocker spaniel named Buffy who was the beloved pet she shared with her own children. Her respect for animals extended to concerns about the welfare of wildlife in Africa, and Erika enthusiastically supported the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
Erika is survived by her husband Manfred Bierschwale, daughter Claudia Muller (Mark), son Ralph Bierschwale (Debby), and grandchildren Talia Bierschwale, Max Muller, Derek Bierschwale, and Stefan Muller, as well as a wide circle of loving friends and family in Pennsylvania, New York, and Germany.
There will be a memorial service in Erika's memory on August 17, 2019. 11 am at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 415 E. Athens Avenue, Ardmore PA 19003.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), https://support.worldwildlife.org, 1250 Twenty-Fourth Street, N.W., Washington, DC
20037, or to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF), www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org, 230 E. Ohio Street, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60611, in Erika's memory.
Arrg. by: The Donohue Funeral Home, Newtown Square, PA
610-353-6300
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