Anonymous
To Maria's family,
I am the daughter of one of Maria's childhood friends. Her name is Marianne Grunberg, nee Schoen, and she was born 2 months after Maria in Grafengruen. The two attended school together, my grandfather was their teacher. I believe that after WWII they left Grafengruen together. My mother always said that Maria was the quick witted one who knew how to deal with any situation, while my mother was just a bit naive.
After Maria went to the US they lost touch for a while, but found each other again in the 1980s, after which they talked on the phone and visited once in a while. I also got to meet Maria and liked her for her energetic and outgoing personality.
Today (04/17/2011) my mother mentioned that she had not heard from Maria for some time, and looking for her online I found her obituary. It made my mother very sad. She said that Maria was the best friend she ever found and that she will never forget her.
I hope that you will find this message and know that Maria was loved even by friends from a long time ago and along way away.
My best wishes to you all,
Ulrike##imported-begin##Ulrike Clevenger##imported-end##