Christel Holzer

Christel Holzer 1913 - 2008 BURLINGTON Christel Fuchs Holzer - mother, friend, peace worker - died peacefully on August 6, 2008 in Burlington. Born in Germany in 1913 to Else Wagner and Emil Fuchs, a minister and noted theologian, Christel grew up in the historic city of Eisenach. Her siblings were Elizabeth Fuchs-Kittowski, Gerhard and Klaus Fuchs. At great cost to life and liberty, the Fuchs family worked against Hitler and the rise of fascism. After fleeing Germany with Quaker assistance, Christel made the United States her adopted home in 1937. She attended Swarthmore College, where she met and married Robert Heinemann. They had three children, Stephen, Marcia and Kristel. With second husband, Albert Holzer, Christel settled in Vermont in 1963 and raised two more daughters, Marianna and Heidi. Christel's love of humanity, contrasted by her bitter experiences in Nazi Germany, led to a life-long commitment to peace and justice. She played a leading role in the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) in Vermont and New England, the Earthbridge Community Land Trust, the Vermont Nuclear Freeze movement and Vermont Witness for Peace. She was awarded the first Vermont Peace Prize in 1981. At age 82, she went to Nicaragua for several months to teach bookbinding, her chosen profession. The onset of dementia forced Christel to retire from peace work at the age of 90. She moved to Birchwood Terrace, where she was well loved and looked after by the caring staff. She leaves a son Stephen Heinemann and wife, Ann; daughters, Marcia Saunders; Kristel Heinemann; Marianna Holzer and husband, Rik Palieri; Heidi Holzer and husband, Hamid Noroozy; nephew Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski, five grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Christel found personal and spiritual nourishment in nature and Quakerism. She loved children, friends, books, laughter and song. All were healing presences in her life and supported her continuous and courageous confrontation with the sources of pain in the world. She will be missed. FUNERAL NOTICE: A celebration of her life will be held Aug. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the Friends Meetinghouse, 173 North Prospect St., Burlington. Memorial donations may be made to AFSC of VT, 73 Main St., Montpelier, VT 05602. For more information call, 802 482-3185.