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Ilse Link

Ilse Link passed away quietly on June 22, 2017. She was 93 and had suffered from Alzheimers for a number of years.

Ilse was born in Heydekrug, in the far northeast corner of Germany, in 1924. After World War II the area became part Lithuania. Towards the end of war she, along with parents, siblings and most members of the extended family became a refuge and all fled to what would later become West Germany.

Ilse married her husband, Waldemar, in 1945 and had a son, Rainer, in 1946. A second son, Wolfgang, was born in 1947, but died before he turned three.

Ilse and her family emigrated to the United States in 1954 and lived in the New York City area. Ilse was employed as a bookkeeper/secretary and very much enjoyed the independence her work provided in spite of the travails of commuting 1.5 hours each way by bus and subway from home to Manhattan.

Waldemar, a musician, and Ilse both lived for music, and they were involved with music all of their lives. In her middle years Ilse also expressed herself through art. She took up painting and enjoyed a variety of art projects.

When Ilse and Waldemar retired they returned to Germany, only to come back in the year 2000 to live in Hudson. This past year she became a resident of Comforts of Homes in Hudson.

Ilse is survived by son Rainer, daughter-in-law Yvonne, grandsons Rainer and

Kai-Jürgen, and his wife Annette, and grandchildren Isabel, Zoe, Ruby, Felix, Maya and Max. A sister, Brigitte, also survives in Germany.

There will be a Celebration of her life on Friday, June 30, from 2-4 pm with a brief, informal commemoration at 3pm. Location is the O’Connell Family Funeral Home in Hudson, 520 S. Eleventh Street.

We will miss her, but her light shines on within us.