Hedy was born in Ulm, Germany in May, 1938. She was originally named Hedwig (after her mother), but she very much disliked the name and legally changed it to Hedy. She had an older sister, Marianne (Tante). They grew up during World War II. Times were tough, and their dad frequently visited the farms outside of the city to see if they had any spare food. Many parts of the city were bombed to rubble. After the war ended, mom said she was happy her city went to the Americans. She said the soldiers were very nice and used to give them candy. Eventually, Marianne emigrated to the United States with her husband, and Hedy soon followed. She left Germany in 1957 with her cousin Mathilda, and sailed over on the Holland America Cruiseship 'Statendam'. She arrived in the United States on her birthday in 1957 and moved to Ridgewood, NY. She got a job in a photography studio in Manhattan despite not knowing any English when she first arrived. 

In 1959, Hedy met Fred at a German dance on Long Island. It was love at first sight. They were married in September 1960. They drove from New York to Miami Beach for their honeymoon. In 1961, Fred Jr was born. In 1968, Michelle was born. Hedy's sister Marianne and her husband lived just down the street so Fred Jr and Michelle basically had 2 sets of parents growing up. Hedy's father and stepmother came over a few times from Germany to visit. The family expanded to 2 granddaughters, Kristina & Deanna, who she loved very much. We welcomed Chris into the family in 2019. The extended family included many German friends that were lifelong friends - Tante Lotte & Uncle Wolfgang, Tante Mina & Uncle Alfred - they all eventually moved from Long Island to the same town in Florida. She was also close with her cousin Matilda who came with her from Germany, also lived in Spring Hill, and who, sadly, also died in the same accident. She also had some family in Germany and was considered 'mom' to her fan base in California.

Hedy worked at a photo lab in Germany when she was young. When she came to America, she was very proud to get a job in Manhattan, also working at a photo lab, while all of her girlfriends were working as seamstresses at a factory on Long Island. When she moved to Suffolk County, she raised her children, and maybe had a part time job in the cafeteria at one of the schools, but don't quote me on that. For many years, she and Fred along with her sister and brother-in-law operated a motel on Route 112 in Patchogue called The Halfway Motel. Many holidays and birthdays were celebrated there. When the family moved to Venice, Florida in 1980, she and Fred bought a boutique shop called the Greenwich Village Boutique that sold t-shirts and all sorts of strange novelty gifts. Upon moving back to Long Island in 1983, she single-handedly ran another clothing/t-shirt shop in Port Jefferson called Shirt Tales. Then, they moved back to Florida in 1988 and she bought a clothing store called the Fashion Warehouse that sold all sorts of ladies fashion items. When she sold that store, she worked in Spring Hill at Scrubs Plus, a place that sold, well, scrubs. She very much loved interacting with people and worked hard all her life, but still managed to have dinner on the table for her family every night.

Hedy was interested in everything. She loved to learn and was always up for an adventure. She tried every sort of food that was available - things that most people wouldn't eat. She was a big fan of escargot and head cheese and never balked at a food challenge. Not sure how she raised such picky-eater children. :) 

She loved to travel and Michelle feels very fortunate that in the later years Hedy would go along with whatever weird travel things were proposed. They traveled to Alaska, Hawaii, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, Pigeon Forge, Oregon, the entire Northeast and Eastern Seaboard, and California Coast. She was ready to go to Yellowstone with Michelle & Kristina in July 2020, but because of Covid, it never panned out. She also loved to play the slot machines, so trips to Las Vegas, Biloxi, and many cruises also happened. Michelle even convinced her to go on a bluegrass music cruise out of Miami. She almost never said no. Except to Cuba. She did not want to go to Cuba.

She loved to talk. She loved to meet people. She was a fierce and loyal friend. She was always there for you and never forgot a birthday or holiday. She loved to talk about the weather and she loved trips to the supermarket. And the animals. All the animals. We always tried to incorporate some kind of animal adventure wherever we went. 

She also had a very good sense of humor. We teased her a lot, but she rolled with it. She did love to laugh. And Elvis. She loved Elvis.