Unni Brita Wijsmuller

Unni Brita Wijsmuller, aged 90, died peacefully at home on August 20, 2016 surrounded by her loved ones. She had an extraordinary life and left behind several generations of family and friends who loved her dearly. She will be deeply missed.

Unni was born in the small town of Drammen, Norway on October 24, 1925. She lived there with her parents and older brother through the WWII when Norway was occupied by the Germans. When the war ended, she left her country to help with the reconstruction of Holland. It is there that she met her future husband, Dr. Gerard Wijsmuller. Gerard and Unni were married in 1950 and shortly after the birth of their first child they moved to Dutch New Guinea (now known as Irian Jaya) where Dr. Wijsmuller was sent by the Dutch Government to serve as the head of the Department of Public Health Division for Tuberculosis Control. This is where Unni’s other four children were born and like their first child, were delivered by her husband. The family was forced to leave in 1962 when Dutch New Guinea was turned over to Indonesia and they chose to immigrate to the United States. After two years in New York City, they moved first to Sandy Spring, Maryland and then to Atlanta, Georgia where Unni lived for 43 years. Through this time, Unni transitioned flawlessly from Norwegian to Dutch to English - although at times she would mix up the words. This only added to her multicultural charm.

Her devoted husband Gerard died suddenly when she was only 48. The whole family was devastated and could not imagine how Unni could move on. She surprised and inspired everyone by living another 42 years as an independent woman with an amazing ability to befriend people of all ages, ethnicities and nationalities. After an adult life devoted to raising five children, she took on several occupations, including sales person in a Norwegian boutique, law office librarian, tax consultant, RE agent and Norwegian instructor. She travelled the world with friends and family and was very active in senior university. She also proved to be amazingly adept at financial investments and international currency exchange. Unni is survived by her daughters Kari Aldridge (Gerald), Ase Sewall (Roy), and Marijke Strachan (Steve Berson); and sons Ernst Wijsmuller (Wintie Dutry) and Peer Wijsmuller (Kathy) as well as 13 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. A Celebration of Life for Unni’s will be held at 4pm on Sunday, August 28th at St Luke’s Presbyterian Church (1978 Mt Vernon Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338). In lieu of flowers a tax deductible donation in her memory may be made to the Dorothy C.

Benson Center in Sandy Springs where she was very active in the last five years.

(Donations should be made out to Friends of Benson, 6500 Vernon Woods, Sandy Springs, GA 30328)