Mrs. Renate Fricke

Renate Reuter Fricke, 83, of Chicago, IL, passed away peacefully on February 28, 2019. Renate was born in The Hague, Netherlands in 1935. She spent her early years in Quackenbruck, Germany before emigrating to the United States in 1958.

Survived by her husband Manfred Fricke—they were set to celebrate 60 happy years of marriage in April; four children, Evelyn Hughes, Eileen Fricke, Perry Fricke (Gretchen Fricke), and Renee Fricke (Shanon Chapman); six grandchildren, Kaylan Chapman, Alexandra Chapman, Jennifer Hughes, Stephanie Finn (Daniel Finn), Carson Fricke, Elise Fricke; and two great grandchildren, Ariana Lee and Cayden Finn.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Bruno Fritz Reuter, Anna Wilhemine Louise Nortrup, and her brothers, Fritz Reuter and Gunther Reuter.

Renate was known for her deep devotion to her family and taught us to greet each new day—and each person—with love and tenderness. With an adventurous spirit and a love of nature, she and Manfred traveled the world, always seeking out the most beautiful places—cherishing especially our country’s national parks. She loved to share these experiences with family and friends through the countless photographs that she and Manfred meticulously maintained in photo albums throughout the years, and encouraged her family to continue these travel adventures when she no longer could. The daughter of a violin maker, she loved classical music and appreciated fine craftsmanship. She was an accomplished seamstress who put much love and affection into her creative handiwork. She loved storytelling, German poetry, American history, puzzles, and playing board games with family members. She met all of life’s obstacles with a quiet strength and unfailing optimism, forged in her character as a young girl who struggled to survive horrible living conditions during World War II. A woman of faith, she was our strength, but it will be her love, kindness and compassion that will be sorely missed. She was deeply loved by all of us.

A celebration of her life will be held at Edgebrook Covenant Church at 6355 N. Spokane Avenue, Chicago, IL 60646 on Saturday, March 30th at 1:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Renate Fricke to the National Park Foundation at www.nationalparks.org/donate or Memorial Gifts, National Park Foundation, 1110 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC, 20005.