Obituary of Brigitte Irma Mengelberg

Brigitte Irma Mengelberg ~ 86 Vancouver, Washington April 2, 1929 ~ September 15, 2015 Brigitte Mengelberg (Munzel) was born in Celle, Germany on April 2, 1929 and passed away in Vancouver, Washington on September 15, 2015 In those 86 + years she lived a remarkable life. Her experiences and memories of war time and post war Germany stayed with her and influenced her for the rest of her life. After she completed her elementary and secondary education she completed nursing school but later went on to Medical School completing her Doctorate in Medicine at the University of Goettingen, Germany. She married HansDieter Mengelberg in 1957 and had 5 children with him during their ten year marriage She came to the US to join her husband who was a Fullbright exchange scholar at John Hopkins University in 1965. She often described the ordeal of the North Atlantic crossing with 4 young children in tow. Their 5th child was born in the US. Soon after she and her husband separated in 1968 she set out to obtain credentials that would allow her to practice medicine in the US. With the help and support of her friend, Luddy Capek and her mother, she was able to complete the exam and training necessary to enter an internship and later a residency in ObGyn at St Agnes Hospital in Baltimore Md, an especially daunting task for one who had to overcome a language barrier, not to mention having 5 young children at home. In 1973, Brigitte moved her family to Lake Oswego, Or and started her career at Kaiser Permanente as an Ob-Gyn which lasted until late 1994. She found it a fulfilling and rewarding profession. In her retirement she volunteered at a clinic in Santa Rem, Brazil in the Amazon Basin for Esperanca . Later she volunteered through the Indian Health Service at a Hospital operated by the Choctaw Nation in Telamina, Oklahoma and later at a Hospital and satellite clinics on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Back home she volunteered as a dispensing physician at a NARA pharmacy in Portland. She and her partner, Mary Jo Lackaff managed to travel often and in 2005 purchased a home in Kelowna, BC which they occupied each year from late spring to early fall. It was a sunny setting which provided a yard in which to putter and a hammock to rest in. She loved it. Her children remember her as an energetic mother who took them skiing, hiking and rafting often. She loved the outdoors and in her later years when she could no longer be as active in the woods, on the slopes or rivers she took to her yard where she was an avid gardener whose flower beds in Kelowna were admired by all who strolled by. She is survived by her a partner of 32 years, Mary Jo Lackaff , her children, Ernst (Carol) Mengelberg of Chula Vista, California, Renate (Gerald Dietz) Mengelberg of Oregon City,Susanne (Brad) Drew of Orange County, California, Ulrike Mengelberg of Portland, George(Tomo) Mengelberg of Okinawa and her brother Reinhard (Christiane Schulz)Munzel of Goettingen, Germany. There are 7 grandchildren who Brigitte delighted in spoiling Her old friend Luddy described Brigitte well as "a strong woman, a lovely woman with a wise conscience and generous heart." If anyone wishes to send a gift to honor Brigitte's memory, The following Organizations are preferred: Esperanca Salvation Army 1911 W Earl Dr 7509 NE 47th Ave ste A Phoenix 85015 Vancouver, Wa 98660 Oregon Humane Society 1067 NE Columbia Blvd Portland, Or 97211 A Celebration of Life - November l, 2015 Flavia Hall, Marylhurst University Campus between 1 and 5 PM.