Lucie Lobdell

Lucie Lobdell (nee Scharfenberg) born February 6, 1929 in Łomza Poland, died suddenly at home in Newark, NJ, October 8, 2022, age 93.

She was predeceased by mother Olga Pfennig, father Oskar Scharfenberg, brother Emil Scharfenberg, former husband Thomas B. Lobdell. She is survived by daughter Linda Lobdell; daughters Amy Oyer and Sandy Stevens and their combined 4 children and 7 grandchildren; and niece Angelika Hennig.

As a child of German and Polish heritage, she lived a peaceful rural life in northeast Poland until turbulence before, during and after World War II repeatedly altered borders and occupiers, and left some family members missing, others in work camps, and others migrating west through refugee camps. Lucie and her family passed through a Dresden refugee camp just one week before the firebombing of the city in 1945.

After the war, her family came to settle in Eisenberg, Thüringen in what later became East Germany. Lucie attended business school for a time and had a job in a handkerchief factory. She traversed borders numerous times to find other opportunities. And in 1950 at age 21 she emigrated by herself to the United States on the ship Saturnia, sponsored by American cousins in Newark, the Pfennig/Werkmeister family.

Lucie worked first as a live-in nanny. She also worked at Hahne’s in Newark, at Schering-Plough, and for American Airlines, which started her career in the travel industry. She worked for many years for the Thaler family’s Sea & Air Travel Agency in Paterson and Fair Lawn. She had a great love for travel and did a lot of it, including visiting her homeland almost annually for many years. She carried many fond memories of her times with the Ryl/Kullmann families.

She appreciated nature and was gifted in many things, from floral arranging to knitting, finding bargains, getting spots out of anything, but most especially she had a passion for cooking and baking and took great pride and pleasure in crafting home-cooked meals every day of her life. Lucie was always well turned out in fine hats and impeccable outfits, which she carried with an admirably straight posture. She took great care of herself with moisturizers and supplements, and that certainly contributed to her living so very well for so long.

She was an avid consumer of British comedies and murder mysteries. She also loved Carol Burnett, Rick Steves’s travel show, Lydia Bastianich and other cooking shows. She was a daily visitor to either Trader Joe’s, Nutley Shop Rite, Aldi, Lidl, Super Fresh and the produce market, with special trips to the Russian and Polish stores for bread, and to IKEA for coffee.

Much love to precious friends Naomi Loveland, Gerry Pesci, Ruth and Pastor Elsted, Tina Galladetta, Siglinde Heiland and others unnamed.

A service and celebration of her life will be held on November 6 at First Lutheran Church, 153 Park Street, Montclair, 07042, from noon to 4:30pm. Light foods will be served. All are invited.

See Zoom link on tribute page.

Please instead of flowers, donate to your favorite cause or to one of Lucie’s: Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation (komen.org); Community Food Bank of NJ (cfbnj.org); Care (care.org); American Red Cross (redcross.org); Mercy Ships (mercyships.org); National Parks Foundation (nationalparks.org); NJ Audubon (njaudubon.org).