Marieluise Sannwald Christopher

Marieluise Sannwald Christopher was born on August 9th, 1931 to Dr. Adolf Sannwald and Anna Von Sehrwald, the oldest of five girls born in the southern part of Germany, near the Black Forrest, and in the shadow of the onset of WWII. The war, and later her immigration to the United States, were the singular events that shaped her attitudes and outlook for all of the rest of her days.

At the age of 19 years our mother received a letter and a box of candy – part of a formal outreach program between young people in the US and in Germany – from a young teenager in Owensboro, Kentucky. In July, 1955 four years after establishing this long-distance pen-pal friendship, the Nation family sponsored Marieluise’s immigration to the US. The Christopher family owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mary Jo (Marieluise’s “pen pal”), her two brothers, and their parents, Oleta and G Alton Nation, for giving our mother the life-changing opportunity to begin her new life and family in America, a place she loved so dearly and never took for granted.

Marieluise met the love of her life, Morris “Chris” Christopher, a young soldier, in Owensboro, Kentucky where they began their lives together through marriage in November 1957. After having their first son at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, the young family moved to El Paso, TX, where they had their second and third sons and where they made many life-long friends. Marieluise became a citizen of the United States in 1961. Mother’s first commitment was always to her family.  She put her own career aside for several years while raising their young children during Chris’s deployments to Korea and to Vietnam. When home together, they enjoyed visiting and playing games with family and friends.  After 31 years of marriage, Chris passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer – she missed him for the rest of her life.  Marieluise was remarried in 1991 to Lt. Col. Bernard Nagle, who passed away after 6 wonderful years together. In 1998, our mother moved to Ohio where she maintained her home and her fierce independence for the rest of her days.

Marieluise was intensely committed to her own education and self-improvement and lived a full life during which she impacted and influenced more people than we will ever know. Whether as an executive assistant to the warden at La Tuna Federal Penitentiary and at the El Paso Natural Gas Company, or as a registered nurse – her dream vocation – our mom lived a life of service for others. She loved to cook and kept an open door for friends who were treated to some of the best meals and fellowship that they ever had! In a nursing school essay our mom wrote that a framed verse, a gift from the Nations soon after her arrival in the US, reminded her to, “give to the world the best you have and the best will come back to you” – this was her motto and that which she lived by, every single day.

We owe a debt of gratitude to her wonderful friend Burke Simon who provided friendship, company, and comfort for our mom for many years, including the most difficult final years as her health declined, and during the terrible time that the pandemic made it impossible to have an otherwise normal way of living. His tenderness for her was tireless until his death, less than one year before hers.

In the early 90’s, Marieluise traveled to Costa Rica, Central American with members of the Bolivar, Missouri Berean Baptist Church during which time she accepted Jesus Christ as her Savior. She loved her Savior and was dedicated to her church, volunteering her time to help others, playing the piano, and singing in the choir.

Marieluise is survived by her three sons – Greg (Debbie), Norman (Jean) and Melvin (Rejina), 9 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren and 3 sisters that she loved dearly: Karin Sannwald, Adelheid Olivier, and Amrei Pfeifer, and is preceded in death by her sister, Brigitte Pentone.  Everyone who knew our mother loved her. She is missed terribly, and her legacy will live on forever.
Funeral service will take place on Sunday, October 2, 2022 at 2:00 PM at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 N. Miller Rd., Fairlawn, OH 44333. Friends may call from 1:00 PM until the time of the service. Inurnment will take place at a later date in Fort Bliss, Texas.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Marieluise’s name are suggested to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 6704 Hagerstown, MD 21741 or cancer.org/donate.

Services in care of The Billow Funeral Homes & Crematory, Fairlawn Chapel, 85 N Miller Road  Akron, OH  44333.