Born in Koeln (Cologne) Germany in 1939, I grew up in the small town of Rheinfelden/Baden, on the Rhine River, across from Switzerland, near Basel and the Black Forest .

After high school  I studied to become a chemical engineer, first for two years at the chemical laboratories of the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann La Roche, then for two years at the Institute for Textile Chemistry in the bath town of Badenweiler in the Black Forest near Freiburg.

In between I spent one year in Soedertaelje /Sweden, near Stockholm, as an intern at the pharmaceutical company A.B.ASTRA, where I also learned the

Swedish language. After finishing my degree I worked for three years at a chemical analytical laboratory of the company UNILEVER in Hamburg/Germany and the next two years for the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Hamburg, where I did research under Prof. Nast.

In 1965 I successfully applied and immigrated to the USA . That fall, after a three weeks  journey on a small freighter traveling from Le Havre/France to New York, by way of Newfoundland , Baltimore and Delaware, I crisscrossed the US by bus and enjoyed the wonderful sights of Niagara Falls, Washington, DC, Augusta, GA,  Miami  and the Florida Keys, as well as the Gulf Coast, Texas and the long road to California, ending up in Berkeley, CA on Christmas Day. After the holidays I applied for a job at UC Berkeley, where I started very interesting work at the Hormone Research Institute for Prof. Li, who is well known for his research on human growth hormones.

Berkeley at that time was a very lively and incredibly interesting and international place. Here I met and married my Japanese husband.  We had two children, John and Yurika and soon moved to Davis, CA. After my husband finished his PhD,  we moved to Philadelphia for his first job and over the next years on to New Jersey and Minnesota, where Naomi was born.

In 1981 a new job and big move brought us to Tokio, Japan. We lived in Tama-cho, where our children attended nearby ASIJ. Soon I started volunteering at the ES and HS libraries for Mrs. Peng and Mrs. Downs. In 1985, after the Main Library in the HS had been completely remodeled and modernized, I was fortunate to become the new Circulation Librarian.

Over the years I became active and involved in environmental action and promoted  the ASIJ Recycling  activities, working together closely with the new SAFE (Student Action For the Environment) organization. As the only German staff member I started the German Club and initiated a series of successful biannual Octoberfest Celebrations. At the yearly JUMP activities I enjoyed organizing and serving as chaperone on many interesting trips and during summer vacations  I had weeks of fun working for the Summer Day Camp. My hobbies included singing in a large Japanese amateur choir, participating in many great concerts in Japan and touring overseas.

In 2002 I retired from ASIJ and moved to La Jolla,CA , where I enjoy the beautiful life near the sea and the many San Diego attractions. I keep busy by volunteering at several organizations and enjoy my hobbies of genealogy research, reading and writing books, attending music events, nature walks and family fun.