Lucia Waldt

Lucia H. Waldt, 83, went into eternal rest at Brendan House in Kalispell on Dec. 8, 2006. Much of her family was present to comfort her.

Lucia was well known and loved by the staff at Brendan House, where her warm smile and interest in people were a part of daily life since 2003.

Lucia was born in Pirmasens, Germany, in the Pfalz region, on July 28, 1923, to Peter and Klara Petry Stutzenberger. A gifted student and athlete, Lucia competed in track and field (javelin) and swimming.

She attended college in Munich, Germany, during World War II, graduating with a degree in psychology and teaching. After graduation, she taught school in Bavaria for a time. She loved the Alps and spent her time hiking and enjoying the beauty of the area. She loved the time she taught in the villages of Prien and Bernau on beautiful Lake Chiemsee.

Lucia met her husband, Richard, while she worked as a telephone operator at a U.S. Army base where he was stationed after the end of the war. He fell in love with her voice before he even met her. They were married on Aug. 30, 1948, and then moved to Washington, D.C., in January 1949, where Richard continued his military service. Lucia became a U.S. citizen, and they started their family.

Over the years, they moved with the Air Force back to Germany, where they lived for five years in Bitburg, Trier and Ramstein. After that, they lived stateside, living in Plattsburg, N.Y., and Great Falls until 1972, when they retired from military life and moved permanently to Whitefish.

Two of their three children were born in Germany, and the family was blessed to be able to be closely connected to Lucia's German family while stationed there.

Lucia was passionate about her children, fiercely protective of them and devoted to her family as a whole. She instilled in her children her own love of music, art, literature and nature, and encouraged their pursuits in those areas.

She was totally in love with her grandchildren and loved taking them for little walks in the beautiful forest on their 10-acre home, showing them the wildflowers, trying to catch a glimpse of a deer, rabbit or squirrel, and truly delighting in hunting Easter eggs with them. At birthdays and Christmas, Lucia took great pains to find the perfect gifts, and then carefully wrapped each one, almost as a work of art. More recently, meeting her great grandchildren brought incredible light and joy to her face.

Lucia's modesty and shyness kept most people from discovering her wonderful talents in the arts. Her beautiful oil paintings reveal her passion for the mountains and outdoors. She was an accomplished pianist and gifted writer.

She truly loved music, reveling in the classics of Beethoven, Chopin and Shubert, bouncing to a German folk song, or tapping her feet to the country music at the Blue Moon in Columbia Falls. Watching her daughter, Robin, dance ballet, and listening to the haunting melodies of son Ralph's violin brought rapture to her eyes.

Lucia brought her love, passion, tenderness and devotion to her family and instilled those qualities in them. Finally, she loved driving her red Wildcat with the top down, enjoying the warm Montana sunshine.

Lucia was preceded in death by her daughter, Robin.

She is survived by her husband, Richard W. Waldt Jr., of Kalispell; sons Richard R. and wife Teri J. Waldt, and Ralph W. and wife Kathleen D. Waldt; grandchildren Suzanne M. Colman, Richard L. Waldt, Ryan R. Nelson, Spring D. Hagen, Dawn A. Westphal and Cody Nicole Haack; and great grandchildren Breanna J. Waldt, Shaya Waldt, Brandon H. Colman and Ashley M. Colman. Her sisters, Inge Helander and Gertrude Hoffman, live in Sweden and Germany, respectively.

Funeral services were held Dec. 11, 2006, at Austin Funeral Home in Whitefish. Lucia will rest at Glacier Memorial Gardens, north of Kalispell.