Herta Ochss

Herta Ochss of Macomb Township passed away at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital at the age of 86 on November 6, 2026, surrounded by the love of her family.
Herta was born in Steyr, Austria on July 26, 1939, to Johanna Kranawetter and Alois Edelbauer. She was baptized on August 13, 1939, in Bad Hall, and confirmed at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Neukematen on May 10, 1953.
Her early years were difficult because of WWII, and her father was lost in the war in 1942. While her mother worked and before she married Herta's stepfather Wilhelm Aichenauer in 1949, Herta spent time with her grandmother Theresia Kranawetter and with the Leutgeb family and childhood friend Alois Leutgeb. Herta went to school in Bad Hall, where she would often say she was one of only two Lutherans in her class.
Her first date with her sweetheart George Ochss was at the Adlwanger Kirtag, a church harvest festival in the town of Adlwang. While dating, they would often walk through the Kurpark in Bad Hall and ride around the area on George's Moped. Bad Hall is a thermal and mineral spa town in the foothills of the Alps, where guests have come for therapeutic treatments or Kur for hundreds of years.
George traveled to America and settled in Michigan before heading back to Austria to marry Herta in Pfarrkirchen bei Bad Hall on June 28, 1958. Herta was fiercely independent and a strong woman throughout her life. In October 1958, at the age of 19, she left her family and everything and everyone she knew and traveled to America because 'she was young, dumb, and in love, and she had to get there to be with George.' Together, George and Herta built a wonderful life. They made their first home in Warren, Michigan, before moving to Sterling Heights in 1967 and then Macomb Township in 1997.
Herta's had several jobs centered on food and food service. Before coming to America, she worked at Café Moser in Bad Hall, as well as a butcher shop in Pfarrkirchen bei Bad Hall. In Michigan, she worked for many years at The Little Café in Detroit and then the Holley Carburetor cafeteria, from which she retired in 1996.
She was a longtime member of the Carpathia Club, where she enjoyed playing cards with the Seniors. She loved to travel around Michigan and the United States, went back to Austria to visit family many times, and enjoyed 17 cruises with family and friends. In the summer of 2025, she was able to return to Austria a final time to visit with her brother Willi, sister Hilde, cousins, other extended family, and her dear friend Friede. The trip included staying at a Kurhotel located in the same Kurpark that she had dated George.
Herta was an amazing cook. She prepared meals and displays that were both delicious and beautiful, because 'one eats with their eyes, not just their mouth.' Some of her special meals included chicken Schnitzel and beef eye of round. She loved eating out and especially loved a good Bloody Mary cocktail, big salads, Swiss cheese, Nusskipferl cookies, and chocolate ice cream right out of the carton. She adored her cats BooBoo and Bitsy Girl, who miss her and will be well cared for and loved. She also loved playing Pinochle, browsing estate sales, sitting on the patio or driveway to visit with family and neighbors, and spending mornings with her caregiver and Georges's former caregiver 'Jan.'
So that he could spend his last days at home, Herta sacrificed much of the last several years taking care of her beloved George, who passed away on December 30, 2024. This did take a toll on her, but even when it was difficult, she remained by his side. After he passed away, she missed him terribly.
What Herta loved most of all was spending time with her family. She was so proud of her family and the many accomplishments of her children and grandchildren. Her great-grandchildren especially brought her such great joy. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and will be missed beyond measure.
Beloved wife of 66 years to the late George; loving mother (Mama) of Linda Gerhardt and Anton (Judy) Ochss; adored grandmother (Oma) of Sara Gerhardt, Christopher (Heidi) Gerhardt, Suzanna (Kate) Ochss, Alyssa Ochss, and Karina (fiancée Donald) Ochss; devoted great-grandmother (Oma Oma) of Lily Gerhardt, Nolan Gerhardt, and Evie Gerhardt; cherished sister of Wilhelm (Ulrike) Aichenauer and Brunhilde (Anton) Lehner. Herta is also survived by many nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends in Cleveland Ohio, Germany, and Austria, as well as her beloved caregiver and friend Jennifer Elliott.
A memorial service for Herta will be held Friday, November 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. with a 10:00 am visitation at St. John Lutheran Church, 1011 W. University, Rochester, Michigan 48307.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in memory of Walter Schaller.