Elfriede Bartel Engels

Published 10:03 am Friday, December 20, 2024

Elfriede Bartel Engels passed away at the age of 101 on December 12 at Southminster retirement community in Charlotte, where she had lived since 2021.

She was born on June 12, 1923, in Tilsit, Germany, on the Baltic Sea. In the winter of 1945, as Soviet troops invaded East Prussia, Elfriede fled with her mother and sister to Denmark, where she lived for two years in a camp for German refugees. After the war, she returned to Germany and eventually moved to Solingen, where, in 1949, she married Walter Engels, a young mechanical engineer from Cologne.

In 1956, Walter accepted an employment offer from the Bommer Spring Hinge company in Landrum, and the couple, along with their two young sons, moved to Tryon. They had planned to return to Germany eventually but remained in Tryon. In 1960, they took up permanent residence in the Vance-Yale house on Freeman Hill, which they owned until 2007. The family also grew with the birth of a daughter.

Always precise and thorough, Elfriede was a talented seamstress, chef, and enamelist, a craft she learned and practiced at the Tryon Fine Arts Center. Late into life, she remained active at Holy Cross Church, the St. Luke’s Hospital Auxiliary Shop, and the Thermal Belt Outreach food pantry. In 1982, with her children out of the house, Elfriede became the proprietress of a women’s clothing shop on Pacolet Street, which she owned until 1995.

She is lovingly remembered by her family for her joyful laugh and strong will, her ability to cope with life’s challenges, both large and small, her occasionally unfiltered speech, and her ruthless Scrabble tactics.

Elfriede is survived by her sons Ulrich (Michele) and Thomas (Wendy); daughter Susanne Shaw (Doug); grandchildren Nichole Engels, Blake Engels (Rebecca), Sommer Engels (Joseph Meyer), Stephanie Williams (Jeremy), and Austin Shaw. She is also survived by nine great-grandchildren, five nephews, and numerous grandnephews and grandnieces.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 11 at 11 a.m. at Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 150 Melrose Avenue, Tryon, NC, followed by a reception at The Fitzgerald, 69 Pacolet Street. The family welcomes all who knew Elfriede to join in celebrating her life.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Southminster Community Fund, 8919 Park Rd., Charlotte, NC, 28210, or the charity of your choice.