Liesel Maria Waples

Liesel Waples passed away peacefully on November 8, 2022, at Shorehaven Lutheran Homes of Oconomowoc.

Liesel was born in 1934, in the small town of Wagenfeld in Northern Germany. She studied textile engineering in München Gladbach and, following graduation, sailed alone to New York City at the age of 21 to perfect her English while she worked for the JJ Newberry Company – as a buyer for textiles and clothing, and Bloomingdale’s – for the sheer glamour of it all.

Liesel married James Waples from Palmyra, NY in 1961 and they began their exciting life together in London, England where their son Jim, Jr. was born. They next moved to Dusseldorf, Germany, where their daughter Katrin was born; and then Johannesburg, South Africa, where Liesel fell in love with the wildlife* (*the huge baboon spiders, which regularly invaded the home, were not a favorite). The family moved back to the States in 1968 and settled in Wisconsin in 1971.

Liesel loved life. She loved to travel. She loved a good Manhattan. She could be quick with a mild German expletive of “Menschens Kind…!” and equally quick to burst out laughing. She loved to garden and the garden loved her. She was a terror on the tennis court and God help you if you were trying to sleep when an early tennis match was on television. Liesel was strong, and elegant. She was brave, and she had style. She was sentimental, and often silly. She made friends easily and gave her time freely in whatever capacity she could – to hospitals, schools, and the Milwaukee County Zoo. When Liesel finally became an “Oma”, her joy was complete. She loved her grandchildren so much. She will be missed, terribly, by all.

Liesel is preceded in death by her mother and father, Elisebeth and Hans, and two brothers, Hans and Hubertus. She is survived by her husband, her children and their spouses, Shirley and Lance, her two grandsons, Peter and George, loving in-laws, nieces, nephews, and long-time friends.

Donations in memory of Liesel can be made to the Milwaukee County Zoo and Shorehaven Lutheran Homes of Oconomowoc - Memory Care.