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De Vogelaere

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Elisabeth De Vogelaere

De Vogelaere

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Elisabeth De Vogelaere

1922 - 2020

BORN

1922

DIED

2020

About

University of California| Berkeley

Elisabeth De Vogelaere Obituary

Elisabeth De Vogelaere

September 28,1922 - March 19, 2020

Elisabeth, 97, entered eternal rest peacefully on March 19 in Oakland, CA. She was the second of 6 children born to Jean and Marie Schouwers, on September 28,1922 in Brussels, Belgium. After living through WWII and helping care for her ailing mother, and siblings: Norbert, Emile, Julien, Pierre and Anne-Marie, she married her husband, René in 1948. They moved to Quebec Canada, South Bend IN, and finally to Berkeley CA in 1957, where René was a Professor of Mathematics at UC Berkeley. Elisabeth's devotion to her husband allowed his career to flourish, including sabbatical adventures in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Elisabeth was always helping someone, from the time she started school and befriended a girl who was being bullied to her last years in the Mercy Retirement Center where she would visit with the "old" people who were lonely. Elisabeth volunteered for numerous organizations including School of the Madeleine; the Equipment Center which provided household items for UC Berkeley visiting academics; and the Turnabout Shop which raises money to provide dentistry for people in need. She also donated to innumerable non-profit organizations.

Singing in the St. Mary Magdalen Church choir and playing piano gave her great joy. Attending daily Mass was an important part of her life and she shared this passion by being a Eucharistic Minister. However, her focus was always her children and grandchildren. Nothing pleased her more than their visits, pictures, and hearing about their lives. She instilled a love of life within each of them.

She is survived by her sister Anne-Marie Schouwers; children: Charles, wife Cynthia, their children Luke and Beth; Hélène, husband Bill McKee, their children Daniel, Marilyn and Steven, great grandchildren Anneliese and Ezekiel; Andrew, wife Lois, their children Matthew and Marissa; and Gabrielle, husband Jon Baumgartner, and their children Jonah and Thomas.

Friends are invited to share a celebration of Elisabeth's life at a safer date at St Mary Magdalen Church in Berkeley.

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle from Apr. 6 to Apr. 7, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for Elisabeth De Vogelaere

1 Entry

iris boudart harris

April 20, 2020

She gave me the greatest gift I have ever had: the joy of music. She was my first piano teacher, and I thought she was a magician. Later, I taught music, too, both in schools and private lessons at home. My daughter, Marina, was my first student, and she is now an opera singer in New York City. During my lessons, I made sure my students were having fun. That way, they would enjoy music all their lives, even if they forgot how to play. I am thrilled that I was able to introduce her to my daughter, and thank her for what she did for me and her in our lives.

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