Ludwiga Julia Von Marbod

Ludwiga Julia Von Marbod passed away Saturday, March 11 at Summerwood Alzheimer's Special Care Center where she had resided the last three and a half years.

Ludwiga Julia Von Marbod was born Oct. 29, 1924 in Bochum, Germany. Ludwiga preferred her middle name and was known as Julia throughout her adult years. Julia was the only child of Carol and Emma Schumacher and grew up in Bochum and Coswig, Germany. She attended high school in Radebeul/Saxony, a city in Germany known for the famous Karl May Museum of the American Indian. She studied English in school at a very young age and set her mind on going to the United States after completing her education.

In 1942, Julia graduated from the Bach college of languages, in Leipzig, where she majored in English, French and German. From 1946 to 1949, she was employed by the U.S. Military Government in the State of Hesse, and was assigned to the German-American News Agency (DANA) as a Journalism Editorial Translator.

During the years 1949-1954, she was employed by the U.S. Department of State, Foreign Service, and her last position was that of a Translator/Interpreter in the Legal Department. The American Embassy at that time was situated on the banks of the Rhine river as a part of the Bonn/Enclave, Germany. It was in this romantic setting, during the spring of 1952, that Julia met Robert Von Marbod, an American who was also with the State Department, Foreign Service as a member of the staff of the U.S. high commissioner for Germany. Robert completed his appointment at the end of 1953, and Julia joined him the following year for their marriage in Bern, Switzerland, on Dec. 23, 1954. They have no children.

After leaving government service, Julia's husband founded a business in marketing with the objective of their being able to remain in Europe for a few more years. They shared several special interests that included traveling throughout Europe and devoting their spare time to researching the activities of prominent Europeans who had traveled to the American West during the 19th century. Robert researched the archives and Julia translated the hundreds of documents that were located from German to English. Julia also found time to pursue her other interests which included literature, languages, music, gardening, sewing and tennis.

Julia and her husband also shared several dreams since they were married which included being able to live in beautiful Bavaria, near the legendary "Sound of Music" country, and spending their vacations on the Mediterranean beaches of the sunny northern Italy and Spain's Costa del Sol. All of their goals and dreams were realized, but the "few more years" in Europe were extended to 1995, for a total of 41 years. Now, however, it really was time to return to Robert's place of birth in the American West. They moved to Moses Lake in 1995, with their ultimate goal of settling down in Wenatchee where Robert grew up as a boy.

Julia will be buried in Wenatchee. Burial is in care of Jones and Jones Funeral Home.