Brigitte Erna Tosch

Brigitte Tosch of Austin, Texas passed away unexpectedly on April 8, 2022 at the age of 83.
Brigitte was born in 1938 in Berlin, Germany. Brigitte's young childhood was soon interrupted by the ravages of World War II. Due to the war her father Emil Fidelak was drafted into the army. His wife Erna and the children survived the war years in their home in Berlin. In 1945 after the end of the war Emil was released from the POW camp to West Germany with instructions to stay out of the Russian-occupied zone. Unfortunately, their house in Berlin happened to be in what turned out to be the Russian zone. Emil made an unannounced trip to Berlin, packed up whatever they would be able to carry and within 24 hours they had their house locked up and were on the train to Offenbach in the American occupied part of Germany near Frankfurt.
In search of a fresh start, the family planned to emigrate to America. Sadly, Emil passed away in 1953, before they received clearance. The remaining family received clearance to move in 1956, at which point they emigrated to the US. Brigitte and her mother ended up in Longview, Texas. There Brigitte met and married Jim Adams and had two children, Sherry and Billy. The marriage did not last.
Nevertheless, Longview had a lucky star for her. It was in Longview that Brigitte met the love of her life, Norman Tosch. Norm was living in California at the time, but was in Longview for work, conducting wind tunnel testing for his job at Lockheed Missiles and Space. Brigitte was working at the airport diner at the time – and Norm was smitten with her. He found every excuse to return to the diner to spend time with Brigitte.
In 1964, Norm ended up helping Brigitte and her mom move to California, and Norm and Brigitte eventually married January 29th, 1966. Son Ronald was born in 1968. Ironically enough, Texas was not done with Brigitte; Norm was relocated to Lockheed's new Austin site in 1983 so Brigitte, Norm and Ron moved to Austin that spring.
In both California and Texas, Norm and Brigitte had a passion for helping others, whether it be staffing the CONTACT crisis hotline in California, or working with Victim's Services with the Sheriff Office, APD Abandoned Vehicles, and CASA in Texas. Even after Norm passed in 2004, Brigitte continued to give back by volunteering at Austin Bergstrom International Airport.
Whether dealing with the trauma of WWII, the fear of leaving the only country she'd ever known for a new life in America, the challenge of leaving an abusive husband, the tragedy of losing a wonderful daughter, the death of her true love Norman, enduring a plane crash AND her house burning down on the same long weekend, or her later battles with cancer, Brigitte remained strong, stoic and admittedly stubborn to the very end and will be greatly missed.
Brigitte is survived by son Ron and wife Carmilla, grandson Alex and wife Katie, and great grandson Dakota "Koty" and his sister Emily; son Billy; brother Dieter Fidelak and wife Patricia and their son Mark, plus her wonderful neighbors and circle of friends that meant so very much to her. She was proceeded in death by her husband Norm and daughter Sherry.
Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society in honor of Brigitte Tosch. (https://www.cancer.org/)
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com for the Tosch family.