Johann F. Waidelich was born on August 31, 1924, in Simmersfeld, Germany. He passed away at the age of 96 on Friday, August 27, 2021. A private service was held on Monday, August 30, 2021.

Hans was the beloved husband of Maria Waidelich and loving father of Irmgard Burkel, Lori (Dr. Richard Bernstein DDS) Waidelich, and Timothy Waidelich. He was the proud grandfather of Matthew (Casey) Burkel, Steven (Annie) Burkel, Henry Waidelich, and Amelia Waidelich; dear great-grandfather of Ellie and Zoey; and brother of the late Freda. Our deepest sympathy to his loving family and special condolences to our dear members Maria and Tim.

Hans was a highly skilled tailor at men’s fine clothing stores. He joined Edelweiss in February, 1966, and received the Goldenes Edelweiss in 1992. We will miss his warm smile and kind words that he shared.

Family request donations to American Cancer Society Metro Detroit Area Service Center-20450 Civic Center Drive, Southfield, MI 48076 www.cancer.org or American Heart Association/American Stroke Association 3816 Paysphere Circle, Chicago, IL 60674 americanheart.org.

Ruhe in Frieden, lieber Freund

Click on THIS LINK to see the latest Wegweiser.  You can read it online or download to your computer or print it out.

Keep your fingers crossed that the two events on this year's Edelweiss calendar can and will take place! The Gedächtnismesse is scheduled for Sunday, November 14, with a mass at 2 pm followed by a luncheon. Sadly, since our last memorial in 2019 we've lost ten members who will be included in the Messe that commemorates all our deceased.

The Weihnachtsprogramm is being planned for December 5, the first Sunday in December. The musical program is always a beautiful way to start our Christmas season. A dinner afterwards and visiting with friends and family round out a lovely day.

The Committee will be discussing the events in more detail soon and information will be available in the Wegweiser going out this month and on this website. Stay tuned! 

We received word from Lore's daughter Elke that Lore passed away. Here's the obituary sent to us --

Lore Rosa Neidhardt FEBRUARY 14, 1928 – OCTOBER 2, 2021, wife, mom, and beloved Oma, died suddenly on October 2, 2021 at age 93. Lore is survived by her daughter, Elke Neidhardt DeFelice (Phil); son, Guenter Neidhardt; grandkids, Alyssa (Mark), Leanna (Peter), Krista, Ingrid, Heidi, along with great grandkids, Lucas, Gavin, and Carter. She is welcomed into heaven by her husband Heinz, daughter Renate Neidhardt Green, and mother Maria Preuninger. Born in Nurtingen, Germany, she followed her husband to America in 1967 for a better life. Known as Oma to so many, she was an avid gardener, reader, great cook, and the “card lady” at St. Peters Lutheran Church which was her second family. Family was most important to Lore and she was the epitome of grace and kindness and had a smile for everyone she came across. A funeral service is scheduled for October 9, 2021 at 11:00AM, at St. Peters Lutheran Church, 11423 Chicago Road, Warren, Michigan 48093. In lieu of flowers, a donation is appreciated to one of Lore’s many charities: the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, St. Jude’s Children Hospital, Michigan Vets, and The Salvation Army.

Edelweiss sends our heartfelt condolences to the family. Lore was a member of Edelweiss since 1977 and was given our highest award, the Golden Edelweiss, in 1988. We've missed seeing her the last few years. Her always positive and happy personality was a pleasure, as was her beautiful smile. Ruhe in Frieden, liebe Lore.

The GACC recently announced its German-American of the Year for 2021 -- it's our own Edelweiss Vorstand, Erwin Rauschendorfer! We're proud of Erwin for his long-time dedication to our own Verein as well as to the wider German-American community.  His active involvement in so many aspects of the GACC community's life -- music, dance, business, festival chair, technology -- has been done from the heart and benefitted all the clubs in the GACC.

The annual German-American Day celebration is Sunday, October 10. Please join the celebration as we honor Erwin's achievement. Call Rita by September 30 to let her know you'd like a ticket; she will make the final arrangements with the chairwoman so we can all sit together. 

The Carpathia Hall opens at 1 pm and the $35 ticket includes dinner and the program. Coincidentally, Erwin and Herb Gruber were signed up to play music that afternoon, so we have much to look forward to.