Brigitte McKenzie

April 3, 1941-March 5, 2018

Brigitte McKenzie was born in Soest, in wartime Germany. When she and her sisters, Erika and Renate, were in their early twenties, they decided to visit the U.S. for a year. They needed to work to pay for their stay, but each was trained in an occupation and they could get green cards.

Sunny California beckoned, and above all San Francisco, which was reputed to be “nicer” than LA. The three sisters took a student ship to NYC, got $99 bus tickets across the US, and arrived early on a foggy August morning at the south of Market terminal—and wondered if they had made the right choice. Trained as a physics laboratory technician, Brigitte quickly found a job at UC Berkeley, joined the UC Sailing Club and met her future husband, Bruce. They married in 1969. In 1971, Bruce joined the Foreign Service, and they lived in Hamburg, Kuwait, Montreal (where sons Martin and Alexander were born), D.C., Guangzhou, Trinidad, New Delhi, and Bombay.

While in Washington, Brigitte earned a teaching degree and thereafter worked with disadvantaged people or taught school. With her husband’s retirement in 1998, they returned to Berkeley, where she blossomed as school tutor, leader at the Lutheran Church of the Cross, cook for YEAH! (a shelter for homeless youth), fund raiser, and raiser of 15 Guide Dog puppies, while being active in sports and travel. She died four years after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.

A generous and gracious spirit, “Gitta” will always be remembered as the ultimate contributor to the community and to the less fortunate, whether through charitable functions or through raising dogs to guide the blind. In addition to her husband, two sons, and two sisters, she is survived by her three brothers Henning, Uli, and Helmut, all of Germany.

Rest in Peace, Brigitte.