Blanka Hirschler

Blanka Hirschler passed away peacefully in Anchorage, Alaska, on Oct. 19, 2017 at 102. She was born Blanka Rosalie Krausz in Vienna, Austria, on Oct. 10, 1915, to Ignatz Krausz, a wrought iron manufacturer and Eugenie Roth Krausz. Of Jewish ancestry, she fled Austria in 1938, and found refuge in England. She never saw her parents again; they died either in or en route to a concentration camp in Poland.

In wartime England, she worked as a maid, a nanny, and a factory worker.

After World War II, she relocated to Colombia to be with her brother Ludwig Krausz, where she met his business partner Wilhelm Felix Hirschler, also from Vienna, whom she married. In Dec. 1952, the family immigrated to San Francisco. Blanka worked for I. Magnin and Transamerica Corp. Wilhelm died on May 25, 1976. She moved to Anchorage, Alaska, in July 1993, living in her own home, then with her daughter, Evelyn.

She is survived by her daughters, Rosemarie Hirschler and Evelyn Hirschler Dunham (Michael); grandson Samuel (Chelsea) and great-granddaughters Lily Ryan Dunham and Violet Blanka Dunham; grandson Benjamin Dunham; a nephew, nieces and cousin; as well as many other family members and friends.

Blanka had a zest for life. Family mattered above all else. She especially loved babies and puppies. Our lives will be forever enriched by her love and spirit. We will miss her and will carry her in our hearts forever.

Celebration of Life Service Sunday, Dec.3, at 2pm, at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, 3281 16th St. (corner Dolores). Reception following.

Donations: SPCA or any organization that benefits humanity.