Hanna Lore Tschekunow

Hanna Lore Schönknecht Tschekunow, 82, passed away at her home in Mountlake Terrace, Washington on September 11, 2019.

Hanna was born July 30, 1937, in Berlin, Germany, the only daughter of Kurt and Esther Schönknecht. She and her four brothers—Fritz, Gottfried, Heiner and Ulrich—experienced hard times during and after WW II, yet she shared many fond memories of their time together as well. Hanna attended the Waldoberschule in Berlin-Charlottenburg and then began her training as a nurse.

She continued to work as a nurse when she emigrated to the United States in 1962 to join her oldest brother, Fritz, in New Jersey, where she met Alexej Tschekunow at Monmouth General Hospital. They were married in 1965. Hanna and Alex lived for many years in Branchville, New Jersey, sharing a good life on Culver Lake, raising and showing Russian wolfhounds, and often hosting friends and family from Germany.

Hanna received her degree as a registered nurse from Rutgers University in 1981. She worked as a crisis responder for poison emergencies at the New Jersey Poison Information Center for many years and, after moving to West Palm Beach, Florida in 1998, she continued her career at the Florida Poison Information Center. She gave presentations and lectures on the topic of awareness and prevention of mushroom poisonings, and wrote articles and contributed observations and samples to several collections. She served as president of the New Jersey Mycological Society, and was an active member of the Snohomish County Mycological Society, and continued to participate in mushroom gatherings and forays around the country, well into her 70s. She loved the camaraderie of those meetings and cherished the friendships she made along the way.

She had a passion for mushrooms, Russian wolfhounds, woodturning, fractals, drawing, travel, music, nudibranchs, diet coke, and Rudi, her blue and gold macaw. Hanna had a wonderful, wry sense of humor. She was endlessly curious about life and her world, and she loved to engage with people. Her trademark hug with “Hello, my Good One,” is something her friends and family will never forget.

Her husband Alex and older brothers Fritz and Gottfried passed away before her. Hanna is survived by two brothers (Heiner and Uli Schönknecht in Germany), her sisters-in-law (Ursel, Marianne, Holly, JoAnna), loving nieces (Lana, Heidi, Katrina, Sabine, Andrea) and nephews (Oleg, George, Axel, Heiko, David, Christian) and their partners, 22 great nieces and nephews, her parrot Rudi, and many, many caring friends and colleagues.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on September 26, 2019 at Richmond Beach Congregational Church in Shoreline, where Hanna was a member for many years and will be missed by that warm and loving community. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Mary’s Place.