Irma was born on May 20, 1927 in Stuttgart, Germany to Ernst and Karoline Kurrle, the 3rd of five children. She attended school in Stuttgart and became a Kindergarten teacher after graduation. Later she and her sister ran a successful fine linen business for several years.
After WWII she met the love of her life, Lester Anderson who was a US soldier stationed in Germany with the US Army. He was known as Frank to his friends and family. They were married on March 9, 1954 and began the adventure of being a military family.
Irma and Frank were stationed at many bases in Germany, spent a year in France and several years at Ft Belvoir, VA. Frank also spent a year in Vietnam during that conflict and the family lived in Alexandria, VA during that time.
Three daughters and two sons were born to this union and the family traveled from duty station to duty station until Frank retired in 1974. They moved their family to Colorado Springs and had lived here since then.
After retirement, they owned a local donut shop called Das Donut Haus and Irma worked as a hostess for Holiday Inn for 18 years until her retirement in 1999.
Throughout their marriage, they were totally devoted to each other and Irma was Frank’s sole caregiver when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. They had been married for 61 years at the time of his death in 2015.
Irma was a very independent, feisty German lady who lived on her own in their family home until her passing. One of her sons captured it perfectly when he said, Mom loved us dearly and was protective as a 'mama grizzly"..... there was nothing easy about Mom'.
Irma was preceded in death by her husband, Frank; her daughter, Christina Ware; her parents; her siblings Ernest, Lore, Ilse and Walter; and 2 granddaughters, Chantel and JessieAnn.
Irma is survived by her children, Elnora Harding, Diana, Lester Jr. (Rici), Walter (Tricia); her grandchildren, Alexa, Nicole, Matt, Brandy, Shane, Brooke and Lucas; and her great-grandchildren, Gerald, Kaleb, Brien, Molly, Catie, Marissa, Piper, Calvin, Greyson and Holden.
She will be sorely missed and forever loved by those she leaves behind.
