Christel R. Anslow

TRAVERSE CITY — Christel R. Anslow was born Feb. 5, 1937, in Wuppertal, Germany. She lived in Traverse City for the last 18 years, where she owned and ran an Adult Foster Care home for the physical and mentally disabled with the help of her children.

The people in her home were more like family. She gave them more than a roof over their heads; she took them out into the world. Christel showed them places like Mackinaw, Florida, Disneyland and other great places. She was a big advocate for the disabled.

Christel was very athletic most of her life, playing field hockey and skiing in school, later learning archery, snowmobiling, four-wheeling and boating.

Christel enjoyed her music from early on by learning some piano to singing in church choirs.

She raised a family of four children with her late husband, Gabriel Anslow.

Later, she would travel the world with her late companion, Jack J. Shulman. Of late, Christel did her traveling with her aunt, Walpurga Cammerzell from Germany.

She enjoyed filling her spare time with things like landscaping her yard, knitting, always redecorating her home, garden parties for her friends and opening her home to those in need.

Mostly she enjoyed sharing the things she saw and did while traveling the world. In the last several years you could find Christel sharing good times with family and friends at the casino.

Christel was also a member of the Women's Auxiliary of VFW in Davison, had her name in the book of Who's Who, and she become a proud U.S. citizen in 2002.

Surviving Christel are her children, Margrit (Pixie) Anslow, Kathrin L. Anslow, Jeffery Anslow (Nancy Damron) and Casey Anslow (Rebecca Messinger); grandchildren, Kerri Meyer, Michael Wilson, Nicholas Anslow, Mathew Barber, Kristy Anslow, Thomas Anslow, Lisa Anslow, Chad Anslow, Nathan Anslow, Troy Anslow and Tiffany Anslow; 12 great-grandchildren; a brother, Donald (Waltraut) Klapcynski; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and numerous endearing friends.

Visitation for friends and family will be held from noon until 2 p.m. at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home on Thursday, July 16, 2009. A memorial gathering will occur immediately after the visitation at Christel's home, 1408 North Orchard Drive, Traverse City, MI 49686.

The family is being served by the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home.

This obituary was originally published in the Record-Eagle.