The passing of Anneliese
Sad news about Anneliese. We first met in 1971, days after the feature story about her preschool on Manzanita appeared in the Los Angeles Times (as reported in her obituary). A year later, I was working on Capitol Hill, but often thought about our meeting.
When I returned to Laguna in '74, I visited Anneliese. Because she remembered I spoke a bit of German and had graduated from USC in the School of Education, she offered me a job. Not only that, she gave me a place to live as well. So there I was, teaching my class of mostly 4-year-olds during the day and serving as the school's gardener after the last child had been picked up.
Best of all, I felt like a member of the family. Anneliese's husband, Paul, and I made several trips to Napa to buy wine for his cellar. In addition, I shared many dinners with their daughters Ruth and Liesa, and Anneliese's cousin Margot. To this day, I count Gregg and Kathy Abel, who lived up the street, Don Romero, whose sons attended Anneliese's, and fellow teacher Heather Sparkuhl and her husband, Pat, as some of my oldest friends in town.
The last time I saw Anneliese was five-plus years ago. It was obvious she was ill, but she still had her sense of humor and special way of connecting with children. Anneliese, you may be gone now but to countless thousands of children and their families, you never will be forgotten. RIP my friend.
Denny Freidenrich, Laguna Beach