Lotti Lanz Fuessel

She is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Fuessel, her parents, Otto and Trudy Maurer, and her sister, Ruth Gfeller.

She is lovingly survived by her daughter, Sylvia Lanz Snell and husband Ben of Houston. Her step-daughter, Judy Renick and husband Bob of Florida and her Brother, Peter Maurer and Nephew, René Gfeller of Switzerland.

Lotti & Roland immigrated from Switzerland in 1958 with their loyal friends, Kurt and Yolanda Kleyhons to Houston, Texas. Roland was offered a job in a bakery from Swiss Baker, Hans Huywler , while Lotti landed a job as a seamstress for Houston’s elite.

It did not take long for the couple to open a bakery of their own in 1962. They became quite famous to this day. The bakery, Roland’s Swiss Pasty was the place to meet and have real espresso with fresh whipped cream in their tea room. The tea room (way before Starbucks) had customers from all over the world enjoying delicacies and conversation.

Restaurants too sought after their incredible Black Forest Cake and Swiss Rye bread.

Out of the bakery, Lotti loved spending time with her daughter going everywhere! They were inseparable. Since the bakery was closed on Mondays, for several years, they devoted Mondays to shopping and called it, “Their Monday present”.

In 1976, Lotti became an American Citizen. She was very proud and it was extra special being the bicentennial year.

Later in life, she divorced and eventually met Edward Fuessel of New York. They married after 15 years of togetherness and enjoyed 10 more years of marriage. Ed adored Lotti and they enjoyed weekly dance night at Melody Ballroom and Pecos Grill dancing to the band, The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly. They loved to dance and travel. Ed suggested they volunteer as ushers at the Music Hall. They enjoyed all the shows and had a ball taking tickets and seating people. Lotti loved the people watching and their outfits. They both suggested Sylvia join them and soon, it was a wonderful tradition for the three of them.

The highlight of Lotti’s ushering was being the stage body guard for Tom Jones!!! She could tell you some stories about that night!!

Lotti enjoyed oil painting and the walls of her home are filled with her beautiful paintings.

After Ed’s passing in 2005, Lotti’s greatest pleasure was traveling with her daughter. They traveled all over and when Sylvia’s job took her on the Texas roads, Lotti was always ready for the adventure. She was so easy to please and always happy.

Lotti’s favorite vacation was Cabo. Sylvia & Lotti spent countless hours in the water relaxing. Sylvia surprised Lotti with an Alaskan cruise which held so many memories for them.

Lotti fought cancer head on and never complained. She always had a smile on her face, despite the pain. Everywhere she went, people would gravitate to her and fell in love with her spirit.

She never had a bad word said of anyone. She delighted herself in simple things except her clothes!!! She was a stylist dresser and was never seen outside not dressed up. She would giggle with her caretakers on how she would get dressed up for the grocery store.

She remained friends with her first husband and helped countless hours making thousands of Gingerbread Houses in the later years.

Judy, her step-daughter never missed a Sunday call with Lotti after her Dad’s passing. Those calls were a big part of Lotti’s life and they were more frequent during her fight with cancer. Judy was always there for her with concern, hope, and encouragement.

Lotti and Sylvia were each other’s everything and Sylvia never left her side until the end.

Houston and Switzerland are filled with broken hearts.

Sylvia would like to thank her caretakers for their love and support. Her doctors for never giving up and and taking the best care possible for her.

A special Thank you to Dr. Conrad and his team for saving her life three times with amazing surgery on her arms.

She surpassed the odds and was a warrior everyday!

Her angel wings are made of steel. May she rest without pain and be a guiding light to us all.

Friends are cordially invited to gather with the family and share memories of Lotti during a memorial reception to be held from four o'clock in the afternoon until seven o'clock in the evening on Thursday, the 4th of March, at Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston.

A memorial service is to be conducted at half-past ten o'clock in the morning on Friday, the 5th of March, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons. For those unable to attend the memorial service you may access the livestream on Facebook by selecting the "Join Livestream" icon on the “Memorial Service” section below.

In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contribution in her honor may be directed to This Is Houston, rescuing dogs for a better life, P.O. Box 2821, Houston, TX, 77252. (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ThisisHoustonTX); or (Venmo@ThisisHouston)