Christiana Elisabeth Haydn

Wunschengel Ich wuensche Dir einen Engel Er moege Dein Begleiter sein, selbst in der tiefsten Not, Er laest Dich nie allein. Er kennt all deine Wege, er weiss wohin du gehst. Er steht dir gern zur Seite, auch wenns nicht vorwaersts geht. Er traegt Dich auf seinen Haenden, ist da bei dir groessten Gefahr. Due musst nur fest an ihm glauben, dann ist er stets fur dich da. Kommen truebe Stunden und Trauer belastet den Herz, er wird dich sicher helfen, schickt die Sorgen himmelwaerts. (Monika E Schlieben) In Memory of Christiana Elizabeth Haydn Born November 19, 1937, Berlin, Germany to Josef and Elizabeth Michalsky Died May 19, 2012, Charlottesville, Virginia Survived by 5 children, 11 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild and by her two sisters and their children: Daughter, Sylvia-Maria R Wilhelm of Katzweiler, Germany and her children, Christoph Wilhelm, Silver Spring, Maryland Oliver Wilhelm and his wife, Jenica and their daughter Quincy, Honolulu, Hawaii Darinka Wilhelm, Germany Son, Mark A Henniger and his fiancé’ Anja Scharfenberger of Neustadt, Germany and his children, Sunny-Alisa Henniger, Germany Robin-Ann Henniger, Germany Fabienne Henniger, Germany Son, Thomas-Josef H Henniger, and his wife Catherine of Lovettsville, Virginia and their children, Kayla E Henniger Vivian G Henniger Daughter, Bettina D Knoblauch and her husband, Norbert, of Weselberg, Germany and their children Steffen Knoblauch, Germany Meike Knoblauch, Germany Jens Knoblauch, Germany and Daughter, Nicole F Hummel and her husband, Joseph of Sterling, Virginia Rita Rummele, Germany and her children Regina Klien, Germany and her children After retiring from a 27 year civil service career with the US Air Force, Christiana chose to make Shenandoah her home. The beauty of the county and in particular, the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, reminded her of her home in Germany. Retirement allowed Christiana to enjoy the labors of her fruits…literally, because she spent hours upon hours in her yard, landscaping, and gardening, both vegetables and flowers. She enjoyed canning all types of fruit and included flowers and berries from her garden in arrangements she made as gifts throughout the year. One of the many joys, she would say, was seeing the landscape she created change with different bursts of colors which were further complemented by natures’ own seasonal changes. Christiana also loved the thrill of flea market finds, yard sales, consignment shops and antique stores. She couldn’t pass up on a good deal when she found one, even if it was something she didn’t need, but just had to have because it would come to good use: eventually. She was someone who, not unlike everyone else, wanted to be happy, and she wanted to share that happiness as often as she could with those she knew and loved, be it in sharing a good find, good company or a good laugh. She was born in 1937 to Josef and Elisabeth Michalsky, and one of three daughters. Her early years in Berlin were marked by tragedy, living through the city bombings, loosing friends and family and the rebuilding efforts, but her strong spirit always made her look ahead in her life. She often told us that she was blessed because she was one of the lucky ones who survived, but with that came a responsibility, a life-long mission to never forget the many blessings she had and the importance of family, friends and God. In 1959, Christiana married, and spent 24-years as a dutiful wife to a service member in the US Army. During her career as a military wife, she balanced parenting with many community services, and was recognized in the Landkries Landstuhl “Who’s Who” for building German-American relationships. She also gave her time to US veterans, knitting lap blankets for close to 40 years and gifting them to the veterans each year for Christmas. More recently, she became involved in supporting the American Cancer Society, as she lost two close friends who battled cancer. The achievement however she was most proud o,f and one where her name, Christiana holds, at best, third place is that of being our Mother, our Mom, unsere Mama, Oma and Grandy. Hers was a tough love, one that can’t be measured, nor counted, but unconditional and lifelong. It was she who was there to care for us when we were unable to sleep because of a bad dream or a storm ; it was she that was there when we fell down and nurtured us, even though we really weren’t hurt; it was she was who was there to teach us our first words…seeing our smiles and hearing our giggles as we made many German-American mistakes…but in the course of time she helped us learn two languages; it was she who taught us the importance of being independent….a life-long goal, helping us spread our wings to take in what the world had to offer and, while we may often have thought the teaching was over, we’ve discovered it hasn’t, as she saved toughest and most difficult lesson in life: one that we didn’t expect so soon, but one that she wanted us to better understand. Although she may not be with us in person any longer, like her mother, she told us that she will always be with us in prayer and in spirit. She would continue to be with us and as our ‘Angel’. I can’t say that everything’s okay ‘Cause I can see the tears you’re crying And I can’t promise to take the pain away But you can know I won’t stop trying I’ll be the angel by your side I will get you through the night I’ll be the strength you can’t provide on your own ‘Cause when you’re down and out of time And you think you’ve lost the fight Let me be the angel The angel by your side (Francesca Battistelli)