Edith M. Jaeschke

It is with great sadness that we announce that Edith H. Jaeschke entered eternal life on May 10, 2010. Edith was born in November 1920 to Gustav and Charlotte Mauer in Treuenbrietzen, Germany. Edith was a faithful member of Trinity Lutheran Church of Wellsboro, PA and the Lutheran Church of Nativity in Arden. She leaves many friends in Germany, Wellsboro, PA and the Asheville area whose friendship she nurtured and cherished for many years. Edith began her career in a bank in her home town, but had to regrettably leave because of circumstances in that part of the world were unavoidable. She and her husband Carl Jaeschke, who preceded her in death in March 1990, bravely packed up their meager belongings and their three children, Sabine, Rainer and Chris. They crossed the East-West German border via Berlin in 1953 and passed through various refugee camps before finding a permanent home in Dusseldorf, Germany. In 1957, they immigrated to the United States and landed in Philadelphia, PA, with the sponsorship of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the local St. Peter Lutheran Church congregation. She again sought employment with an insurance company and excelled in her work, but her husband's position with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC entailed another relocation. When he retired they moved to the beautiful "Grand Canyon" mountains of Wellsboro, PA, where she cultivated many friends and thoroughly enjoyed the area until her move to Arden in 2001. She was a quiet, refined lady loved by all whose lives she touched. Edith is survived by her children, Sabine (John) Dieringer, Rainer Jaeschke, Susan Jaeschke, Chris (Jeanne) Jaeschke and seven grandchildren, Carl (Kelly) Jaeschke, Jennifer (Rob) Sprague, Heidi (Sean) Loepp, Deana (Ben) Clapp, Lauren (Colin) Gaul, Eric Jaeschke and Anna-Marie Jaeschke. Edith is also survived by seven great-grandchildren: Emma and Anna Jaeschke, Evelyn and Maren Loepp, Riley Gaul, Kendall Sprague and Carlos Clapp. She is also survived by her dear relatives in her home country. A funeral service will be held at the Lutheran Church of the Nativity at 2425 Hendersonville Road, Arden at 11:00 a.m. Friday May 14, 2010. The Revs. Mark Fitzsimmons and Ernest Ridenhour will officiate. Interment will follow at Green Hills Cemetery, 25 New Leicester Highway, Asheville. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation to Lutheran World Relief, P.O. Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21298-9832, or at their website, www.lwr.org. Groce Funeral Home on Patton Avenue is assisting with the arrangements.