Anna Margarete Voss

She was Born in Germany in 1936. As a child she grew during WWII and saw the suffering and challenges of war and its aftermath. As a result she was profoundly effected. She was very cautious with money and hated wasting any food. She was a child of a simple farming family. She yearned to see the rest of the world, the world she read about in school ...The Pyramids, Machu Picchu, the Panama Canal and the expanse of America. She married her first husband at a very young age but it didn't last very long. She wanted to see the world.

She met my father Larry Voss ( a helicopter mechanic in the US army) in the early 60s while working on the military base in the Post Exchange (PX). The were married in 1962/63 and my brother was born in Germany in September 1963. My father was promoted and went to Flight school and officer training in Fort Benning GA where I was born in 1964. My father spent several tour in Vietnam while my Mother, Brother and I moved to Texas, then Sunnyside WA and finally back to Germany to wait for my father's return from Vietnam. From this time until 1980 we had the good fortune of being stationed either in Fort Lewis or the Army Base in Germany where my parents met.

Throughout her life my Mother was always outgoing, free spirited and very generous with her time and money. I always remember friends, family coworkers and new acquaintances were always stopping by. Later when I visited my Mom I learned to expect anything or anyone to show up. She was always volunteering for charities and especially wanted to help children in need. For more than 15 years she volunteered at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center as a Cultural Liaison, translator and helper to any German speaking patients who came to Seattle for treatment.

After my father completed 20 years in the Army he retired and we moved back to the Puget sound area. My Mother and Father Divorced in the mid-1980s. For the next 25 yrs my Mom got her real estate license and had a successful career selling real estate on Mercer Island. She was finally able to travel and see all the places she learned about and dreamed about seeing as a child in Germany. She cruised through the Panama Canal, saw the Pyramids and traveled the world. Finally about 6 years ago she was able to go and visit Machu Picchu completing a life long dream.

Sadly it was shortly after this trip that her dimentia starting getting bad and limited her ability to travel and finally to communicate with her friends and family. She died peacefully in an Adult Family home with the best of care and attention.