Gerlinde Stanzel Duarte

Mother Duarte

In loving memory of our wonderful mother, Gerlinde Stanzel Duarte, who everyone just called “Oma.” She was stubborn, strong-willed, quick to anger and equally fast to show complete forgiveness of anything life and circumstances could throw at her. Separated from her family as a child in Czechoslovakia due to the consequences of war, she found the love of her life in another war, meeting and marrying our father Francisco Fanchette Duarte, while he was stationed with the Army in Germany. She was the rock and matriarch we all relied upon, raising three daughters, Monika, Rosita and Angelita, and one son Frankie, ensuring they wanted for nothing even when she had only a little. Her passion was cooking, and she made a living at it in many places from Hotels and Restaurants to Assisted Living and Fraternity houses, always leaving her mark with the people she worked with who would never forget her, even years after she left. We love her dearly, and I miss her already, even though I know she is still with us.

She is survived by me, her son Frankie, and my oldest sister and her daughter Monika.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 50+ years, and my dad, Francisco “Frank” Duarte, and her daughters and my sisters, Rosita and Angie, each of whom also left us too soon. May God Bless them all and keep them in his care.

Thank you, mom, for making me who I am.