Helma Fischer

Helma Neumann Fischer, 91, of Interlochen, MI died peacefully on January 8, 2026. She passed away with her three children by her side at her daughter's home in Wheaton, IL, after an extended illness following a severe stroke.

Helma was born in the small town of Jügesheim, Germany in 1934 as the middle daughter of Adam and Frieda (née Weber) Neumann. Her early years were marked by the hardships of Nazi Germany and WWII, as her mother traded seamstress work for food and helped dig their street's bomb shelter, and her diabetic father struggled to access his insulin. She readily recalled digging for carrots in a neighbor's field without her parent's knowledge and running away from the sheriff, who also happened to be her uncle, as he approached on his bicycle.

Because motorized vehicles were so rare in her town, she never learned to look both ways before crossing the street. At one point, she was run over by a truck while following a group of older children. Her right ear was nearly detached, but the doctors managed to repair the damage and her hearing did not suffer. Despite other dangers, including a Christmas when both of her sisters were sick in the hospital with scarlet fever, she survived.

After the war ended, Helma sought broader horizons. She spent two years waiting for a visa, then came to the United States on an ocean liner in 1955, where she lived with family friends in the German-American community of Flushing, Queens. Despite a barrel of beer bet to the contrary, she was not married within six months as predicted by family friends. Instead, she later met and married the love of her life, Harry Arthur Fischer, in 1959.

She remained notably petite throughout her life, to the point where her wedding dress fit her granddaughter Meg at 12 years old. The jeweler working on her engagement ring in 1958 insisted on adding a temporary size adjustor, "...since her fingers would certainly widen over time." That "temporary" size adjustor remained in place until the day she died. This became one of many stories that Helma loved to share with family and friends.

Helma and Harry welcomed three children over the course of the 1960s, who would go on to cause her headaches in turn by riding motorcycles and flying fighter jets. Convincing stern and thrifty German parents of anything was never easy, but Helma could usually be persuaded to allow her children to follow their passions, perhaps recognizing a reflection of that adventurous spirit that sent her halfway around the world as a young woman. Her family was always her greatest source of joy.

As she moved across the country with her growing family -- first to New Jersey, and then to Michigan -- she would continue to embrace new adventures, learning how to drive in her late 20s and how to swim in her 50s. She was a born storyteller and a passionate teacher, especially of German. She taught German through an adult continuing education program, gave private German lessons to young students, and even assisted with German language instruction at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI as a native-language conversational partner. Her children and grandchildren will remember their first German lessons were phrases for everyday life, especially Helma's favorite phrase for washing dishes: "Viele Hände machen ein schnelles Ende," or many hands make light work.

Her efforts to share German culture also extended to food: she would bake German yeast dough throughout the year, and Christmas was not complete without Oma's stollen with a heavy sprinkling of powdered sugar. Her children and grandchildren will always fondly remember Oma's fish fries and German potato salad enjoyed over 4th of July weekends spent at the lake. Christmas Eve heringssalat, New Year's sauerkraut, and loin of pork served with brotklöße & gravy were steady traditions.

As she accompanied Harry on his many fishing trips, she also developed a passion for nature, especially for watching the birds that she fed outside her window. Observing the surrounding nature was her favorite part of her and Harry's retirement home on Green Lake in Interlochen, MI, which they purchased in 1988. She was a dedicated member of Redeemer Lutheran Church and the Ma-Me-Ne-Sewong garden club for many years.

Helma retained a knack for making new friends wherever she went, including in her 80s as she walked around her daughter's Wheaton, IL neighborhood with her toy poodle, Bella. She befriended multiple neighbors unfamiliar even to Eleanore and Bob, who had been living there for many years.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Harry, in 2015. She is survived by her three children and their spouses: Harry (Stephanie), Eleanore (Bob), and Bruce (Anne), eight grandchildren: Meg, Adam (Anna), Grace (fiancée Jade), Christian (Michaela), John, Will, Claire, and Luke, and two great-granddaughters: Clara and Katherine. She is also survived by her two sisters Else (93) and Hildegard (89), their families, and beloved cousins, in Germany.

A Memorial Visitation will be held on Saturday, January 24, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM with a Memorial Service at 11:00 AM at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 515 S. Wheaton Avenue, Wheaton, IL.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be directed to the endowment fund at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Wheaton, IL or to Redeemer Lutheran Church, Interlochen, MI.