Erika Helene Palnau

Erika Helene Palnau (maiden name "Biank") was born on February 19, 1936 in Perlin (not Berlin) Germany, in the former German state of Prussia, to proud parents Alfred and Helene Biank. She had an older sister and brother. A second, younger sister, Magdalene, contracted typhus during World War II and did not survive. Her father was a tailor, and she enjoyed sewing and knitting, from time to time. She also loved to cook and bake, and she frequently made cakes for the elderly, the sick, and the shut-in, which endeared her to many over the years.

During and after World War II, Erika's father was a prisoner of war in Russia for eight years, so she, her mother, and her siblings fled west to the German state of Schleswig Holstein, where she had an uncle, to escape the Russian armies that were moving west.

Erika learned bookkeeping and eventually worked as a bookkeeper for Johnson's Wax in Hamburg. She loved Hamburg, a major port city in northern Germany that is connected to the North Sea by the Elbe River. This no doubt led to her life-long love of the sea. Erika also loved Switzerland, where she traveled for her summer breaks while she was single. It was there in 1960 that she met her future husband, Gerhard Palnau, who had already moved to the U.S. in 1951. After several months of correspondence, Gerhard proposed, but Erika's father demanded to meet him before he would grant his approval. So Gerhard complied, and apparently passed the test! So Erika crossed the Atlantic, and the couple wed in Detroit in April 1961. After the wedding, the couple moved to the Chicago area (Morton Grove), where Gerhard had already been living and working for several years.

The couple eventually had two children, Judy and Ken, and then the family moved to the metropolitan Detroit area in 1967, where they lived until 1979, when they relocated north to Romeo, Michigan, where they lived until 2008. After that, the couple moved to East Lansing.

Visitation will be held at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Homes, East Chapel, 1730 E. Grand River Ave., East Lansing, Monday from 10 a.m. until service at 11 a.m.

Erika will be remembered for her servant's heart, her awareness of the needs of the others, and as someone who was always willing to lend a helping hand or send a word of encouragement, even though she herself suffered from poor health, multiple surgeries, and various medical issues since her 30's. She will also be remembered for her rather distinctive laugh, and for her love of reading the Bible. One of the most motivating passages of Scripture for her was Matthew 25:36-40:

"I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

It is with great sadness that the family and friends bid her farewell, yet we wait with hope and assurance to see her again in the Kingdom of Heaven:

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;

and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,

neither shall there be any more pain:

for the former things are passed away."

(Rev. 21:4)