ForeverMissed
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Clauson Kids with Omi

This memorial website was created in memory of our loved one, Frau Clauson, 95, born on October 5, 1919 and passed away on April 1, 2015. We will remember her forever.

Frau pictures - many of you will have some great pictures of Mom that we would like to share at the Memorial - please choose your best 3 and sent to Marc at theClausons@comcast.net. Thank you.

Please join us at her memorial on April 25th at 3pm at the Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Juanita for a time of sharing, fond memories, and closure as we honor her life and friendships with those she held dear. All "Frau-ites" are welcome.

We are currently trying to set the site up to allow posting of pictures, memories, and other websites and facebook pages to both share your memories and to connect with the "Frau People" to perhaps reconnect and start your own programs to continue to make the world closer.  

Tributes

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Robin Ballard
April 7, 2015
April 7, 2015
Annelies was one feisty little frau! I loved her spirit and played tennis with her right up to her 90's. She was fun and could get past my anxieties with her practicality and heart. She got me back into the game I love, fed us all rouladin at Christmas and shared her love for travel and the world around her. She was a great friend and I enjoyed any time I got to spend with her. She touched many lives and I'm so glad mine was one of them.
Megan Brazeau
April 6, 2015
April 6, 2015
My dad still tells the story how Frau approached him at the grocery store, asking why he wouldn't let me go to Germany. My dad told her he'd let me go, but she'd need to "turn up the heat" to convince me. Next day, I get in the car showing my paper with a picture of "my German"! I made such a connection that I was homesick for Antje and my other German friends after leaving, I returned following my freshman year of college, made her my bridesmaid and we continue to keep in touch today. My life had changed because of this experience and this wonderful woman who pushed us so hard. We argued, teased, shook our heads at one another, but Frau always kept her end of the bargain, making us work for what we wanted. I'll always remember her dedication to this program and hope my children can experience the magic of an exchange program. Than you Frau!
Jill Huentelman
April 6, 2015
April 6, 2015
I was part of Frau's German class during high school, and participated in the exchange program of 1988. I will always remember that one of her goals with the exchange program was to learn and appreciate people from other cultures, and the benefit of education. She truly changed my life and will be greatly missed!
Kristina Raabe
April 4, 2015
April 4, 2015
Frau touched all of our lives. Her "tough" exterior barely concealed her pride and belief in every student who passed through her doors, even though she often couldn't remember our names - I was her "Roberta". The stringency of the exchange program forced me to be a good student, which lead to my successes later in life. I still use the skills she taught - hard work, a smile for everyone, and the knowledge that the world is so much bigger than any one of us. Some of my fondest memories and best friends are because of Frau. In the words of Sir Terry Pratchett, another who recently passed on: “Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?” Frau's name will be spoken with well-earned love and respect for many, many years.
Steve Lane
April 4, 2015
April 4, 2015
How do you thank Frau enough and what words can express how much we all loved Frau, even though she was tough on us. We knew it was because she loved us and believed in us. The exchange program and my time with familia Buss in Hamburg and with Helmut at our house are some of my most cherished and talked about memories. So many stories, but one that sums up how well she taught me German was when I was getting ready to come home in August, '75, I went to buy Adidas running shoes. I told the lady I was buying 2 pairs because they were twice as expensive where I was from. She asked me where, Bayern? I said, no, America. She wouldn't believe me, because I had no American accest. She made me show her my license to prove it. That's Frau's great teaching. Will miss her forever, even though I didn't get back up there to visit much since i moved away.
Wendy Nelson
April 3, 2015
April 3, 2015
The opportunity I had to study in Germany, thanks to Frau, literally shaped the rest of my life. Because of her, I had the courage to travel and explore the world. I truly believe I would not have had the guts to grab the chances that have been offered to me if I had never known Frau. It's hard to believe that someone who was in my life so briefly had such a significant impact. I will never forget her!
Laura Woodruff
April 3, 2015
April 3, 2015
Frau Clauson was a wonderful teacher, stearin yet caring. I had a lot of respect for her. She is one of the few teachers I remember; she clearly had a way of making a lasting impression!
Robin Hansford Fontana
April 3, 2015
April 3, 2015
Frau taught me so much during my 3 years of German class. She was very passionate about about teaching German that she made learning fun even if I wasn't very good at speaking German. I loved going to her classes and I still remember our trip to Leavenworth. She will be missed!
Ryan Ladiges
April 3, 2015
April 3, 2015
WOW- what a wonderful woman- what an awesome legacy! Frau Clauson touched so many of us is so many positive ways from the subtle to the profound. When we signed up for her class, we thought we were going to learn German, but what we got was so much more. I am truly thankful for the life lessons that Frau and her exchange program created for me, for my family and for my friends. Frau- you will be missed, but your mission to make the world a smaller more familiar place and to foster understanding and compassion carries on. Thank You!
Dani Keller
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
I attended Juanita when it first opened, 1971-1975. My sophomore year was when I began taking German from Frau. By the end of that school year, she was talking to my parents about sending me to Germany. To this day I am amazed that she convinced them to send me (and all without consulting me!). That had never been their parenting style before! People have posted on facebook that she was 'a force of nature' and 'a force to be reckoned with', and it certainly was the case. So, off to Hamburg I went. At the time I struggled with fierce homesickness and felt totally out of control of my life, but it's one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I have not seen the world or myself in it the same way since. The impact has been life-long, and I am grateful. RIP Annelies M Clauson, you certainly are loved.
Roberta Gwynn
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
I was a German Exchange Student from January-June of 1972 in Frau Clauson's program. I also had the pleasure of making friends with several German students who attended LWHS from her program. Being able to see the world, and how others live, changed my life immeasurably for the better. It was such a rare and incredible opportunity and I give thanks still for Frau Clauson, her energy, her enthusiasm and her gift for sharing the joy of her homeland. I am happy that she lived a long and full life, and sad for her family who must now go on without her. She was a truly wonderful lady. I will always have a place in my heart for her, because of the impact she had on my life. Rest in peace, Frau Clauson. From an old student, Roberta (Sonnie) Gwynn
Dierk Evers
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
"Frau" was an incredibly good teacher who loved her job and loved her students. She inspired and deeply influenced all of us. I was one of her German exchange students, in 1972 at Juanita High, and this exchange program was her single-handed initiative. Without her, I would have never come to be an exchange student in the U.S., I would have never met my wonderful exchange family who I love and with whom I still am in close contact. Without her, my life would have been different. I will always remember her, and I am so grateful!
jen leu
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
Thank you Frau, for making the world a bigger and more amazing place than I ever could have realized. You believed in yourself and your students and created generations of kindred spirits touched by the truth of seeing the world from more than one lens. You stood up for yourself and for each one of us as individuals, reached out when we needed it and encouraged our parents to trust us too. Your impact on this world cannot be measured, but the influence you had on me is celebrated everyday. Your life lives eternal in all of us, well done Frau!
Jackie Payne
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
I will forever be greatful for you kindness, and the wonderful gift you had as a educater , you brought a lot of fun to our class. You will always be the best German Teacher LWSD ever had. God bless you Frau!
Jackie Payne
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
I loved Frau so much! I came to USA in 1977 I met her at Juanita High I became her TA we had so much fun, she was a teacher that everyone walked away with something. I will miss her but I know one thing she is up above showing her stuff in a very proud way. God bless you Frau I will love you forever , Thank You!
Kathleen Adams
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
Such vivid memories of Frau teaching us German. I recall the earthquake in high school when Frau thought we were being bombed.
Loved the trips to Schnitzelbank for awesome German food. You touched many lives in your time and I'm so blessed to have been one of them. RIP little lady. Guten nacht, Frau.
Samantha Harris
April 2, 2015
April 2, 2015
So many wonderful memories of Frau. Cooking hot potato salad, making gingerbread houses, shouting at the boys in class, convincing our parents that even though Desert Storm was happening we would still be ok in Germany, making tie dye shirts at her house. She left the world a better place than she found it and I will always love and remember her. Hugs and blessings to her family.
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Recent Tributes
Toni Chamness
April 4
April 4
I will always remember Frau. My German language teachers were the best. The first was Frau Bischofberger and the second , and most strenuous, meine Liebe Frau. What a force of nature, teacher, and example of how to live in a different world. Immer bei mir, meine Liebe Frau. Toni

Maria Mackey Gunn
April 1
April 1
I wanted to add a framed picture of Frau that has been on my kitchen counter for years and years, but we recently moved and I am so sad it's in a box and inaccessible today - BUT, here are some little German toys she gave me when I was a little girl that I have treasured for over 60 years. As I treasure her memory every day
marvin clauson
October 5, 2022
October 5, 2022
Geburtstag??!?? Schon wieder??? In my mind and heart, you remain ageless and always present - this day continues to be a celebration of you, your incredible love, and the teacher/mother that you remained throughout your life and continue to be to this day... Du bist ja immer vermisst -
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Gallery
These are on my windowsill, I think of her when I see them every day ❤️
Gift from Frau, also about 1961
Gift from Frau in about 1961
Mom & Karen _ JHS originals
Matsunaga family
Frau
Frau
Frau
GermanExchReunion - 85
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Recent stories
April 1, 2023
by Maria Mackey Gunn
When I was a little girl, Frau Clauson was the most magical babysitter my little sister and I had - we grew up in Redmond (in the woods - it was the country then) and she was going to school at the UW to get her degree so she could teach, and babysitting on the side.  She brought the MOST fun games and German toys, and we loved her dearly.  So when I got into junior high at Redmond (and by the way I had her husband for science) I started taking German language class in 7th grade, and even though I was at Redmond H.S., she sent me to Hamburg as part of her wonderful exchange program in 1972.  My German family is like my blood family to this day, I love them very much; and the chance Frau Clauson gave me to see and understand another world in that way was a huge turning point in my life.  I remember her saying if people knew people as PEOPLE, maybe there would never be another war.   She was an incredible, wise, kind, beautiful person and I am more grateful to her than I can ever say.
April 1, 2023
by Kay Mierendorf
When Frau Clausen taught German at Lake Washington High School, we learned more than the language. She opened her heart and her home to us. One day after class, we began talking with her about her life in Germany, the war and how she came to be in the United States. We peppered her with questions, and at one point tears filled her eyes. I’ve never forgotten that day. As American teenagers in the 1960s, we had no understanding of what she had faced as a young woman. I remember a few of my teachers from high school. I will never forget 'die Frau'.

Immer noch

April 1, 2023
by marvin clauson
still meeting people that you touched and changed along the way - loved Jay's words - you left a legacy that will continue to foster changes into coming generations - you would be so proud, yet i can hear you 'ach' as you try to pass it off - miss you daily
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