HANS SIEGENTHALER passed away/memorial information

[Guest guest]

>

> HANS SIEGENTHALER, lifelong vegetarian, 20 year

> vegan,

> animal/social/environmental activist, gentle soul,

> and brilliant

> beam of light, passed away Thurs. Jan. 23 at 4pm, in

> his home

> in Northridge, CA, in the company of his devoted

> wife Coby

> & close friends. He was 81. Hans & Coby have been

> perpetual

> crusaders for a kinder world---holding monthly vegan

> potlucks

> and Green Party meetings at their home, marching in

> animal

> rights demonstrations, opening their guest rooms to

> activists

> passing thru LA, making phonecalls, writing letters,

> always

> contributing their energy volunteering for numerous

> causes.

>

> They are the only couple I have ever met, who after

> 51 years of

> marriage, were still like newlyweds, still thrilled

> to be in one

> another’s company, still had a twinkle in their eyes

> for

> each another. They are the epitome of soulmates. I

> believe

> their secret has been sharing the heartfelt bond of

> a cruelty-free

> lifestyle, and as Coby says, " Just simply loving

> each other &

> being cruelty-free to each other, as well as the

> animals! " Hans

> hung on thru recent illnesses. It was obvious he

> didn't want to

> leave this wonderful woman he'd been sharing life

> with, nor

> their circle of friends. He greatly enjoyed having

> people stop

> by their friendly haven.

>

> A memorial will be held Sunday evening, Feb. 2,

> 6:30pm at

> the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Church, known

> as

> “THE ONION”, 9550 Haskell Ave., North Hills, a

> casual

> meeting place. Take the Nordoff exit off the 405

> (several

> miles N of the 101), go west 2 blocks, then go North

> 2 blks.

> To Plummer, & the entrance is just south of Plummer,

> on

> the East side of the street. We invite friends to

> say a few

> words at the ceremony of their fond memories of

> Hans.

>

> It will be a vegan potluck, please bring something

> to share that

> is free of all animal flesh and animal products

> (please email

> marr if you have questions about this

> or need suggestions). Please also bring your own

> plate, utensils,

> napkin & cup. Meanwhile, if you would like to offer

> your

> condolences to Coby, you may write or call her:

>

> 818-341-6153

> as999

> 8843 Penfield Ave., Northridge, CA 91324

> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>

> Enjoy this excerpt from an article written by their

> dear

> friend Janet Allen, one year ago:

>

> I have an image indelibly etched in my mind. We are

> at the

> Huntington Library and Gardens a few years back,

> Coby and

> Hans, myself, and their two German exchange

> students. The

> Siegenthalers are ahead of me on the dirt path,

> walking hand

> in hand like a couple of teenagers, Hans holding

> Coby’s purse

> by his side. I can’t resist, pull out my camera,

> and take the

> photograph that will continue to warm my heart every

> time I

> look at it. True love.

>

> The Dutch pair emigrated to the United States from

> Holland

> in 1955, and in 1961, they officially became

> naturalized U.S.

> citizens. Since then, the Siegenthalers have become

> a highly

> esteemed, almost celebrity, couple within the

> vegetarian,

> animal welfare, and environmental communities, and

> deservedly

> so. Whether hosting monthly vegan potlucks, Green

> Party

> meetings, or alcohol-and-meat-free New Year’s Eve

> parties

> in their distinctly European-flavored home, no

> participant leaves

> without feeling as though they’ve been on a brief

> trip to the

> Netherlands. Tea and grain-based “fake coffee” are

> served at

> regular intervals from Coby’s mobile tea table; an

> antique

> Dutch spinning wheel sits in the front hallway;

> cuckoo clocks

> interrupt conversation every hour on the hour to

> remind you

> how time flies when you’re having fun. A steady

> flow of

> illustrious house guests--including “adopted sons”

> Howard Lyman

> & Michael Klaper, M.D., the late biochemist and

> leading world

> authority on fluoride toxicity Dr. John

> Yiamouyiannis, sports

> nutritionist Douglas Graham. DC, and

> anti-vaccination activist

> and scientist Dr. Viera Scheibner--have all stayed

> in the

> Siegenthaler’s spare “Lincoln bedroom”. Their house

> with

> elastic walls has also acted as Los Angeles’ “vegan

> youth hostel”

> to exchange students and foreign travelers alike,

> who have found

> their way to this mecca for animal lovers.

>

> But the Siegenthaler’s activities are by no means

> limited to

> anywhere near home. The calendar on their desk is

> scribbled

> to the edges with a myriad of commitments

> year-round, from

> demonstrations to protests to health lectures and

> international

> vegan conferences. Not just compassionate and

> conscious folk,

> Coby-a retired registered nurse--and Hans--a former

> chemical

> engineer--are intelligent, educated people who share

> a passionate

> interest in a wide range of subjects: politics,

> human rights,

> nutrition, alternative medicine, solar energy,

> organic foods,

> sustainable agriculture. The common thread? Their

> ultimate

> goal is to end all suffering on the planet, with

> animal welfare and

> liberation coming out on top of the list. Friends

> who rub elbows

> with the Siegenthalers get used to having petitions

> thrust into their

> hands for a signature advocating this or that cause,

> and can depend

> on encountering a variety of fliers, announcements,

> and newsletters

> spread across the living room table. It is their

> common values and

> lifestyles, their love for all living creatures,

> which Coby & Hans

> claim are the key to their rock solid relationship

> of over half a

> century.

>

> The Siegenthalers burst into this world from the

> finest of gene pools

> and were nurtured from birth in supportive

> environments of compassion

> and service. Both were fortunate enough to have

> been raised by parents

> who were members of the Dutch Vegetarian Society, as

> well as devoted

> Theosophists. However, appreciation for their

> comfortable and abundant

> life here in America comes well-earned.

> “Zuerneet!,” they exclaim in

> Dutch, “Don’t complain!” Both raised in ravaged

> Europe during World War

> II, it is riveting to hear them tell stories about

> the hardships,

> famine, danger, and political unrest they

> courageously endured, not to

> mention the tales of how their parents bravely

> harbored Jewish refugees

> in their homes during Hitler’s regime. Both

> families risked their own

> safety to assist a steady flow of displaced souls

> escape capture,

> concentration camps, and extermination. Hans

> recollects the “hungry

> winter” of 1944-45 when food was scarce and he

> exchanged his suspenders

> and textiles from his father’s factory for something

> to eat. He

> remembers having to stand guard when allied bombers

> were flying

> overhead, and the rainy night when “a fire bomb fell

> on our house,

> through the thatched roof and ended up in the

> toilet.” His social

> activist mother was eventually imprisoned for

> wearing an inverted Star

> of David as an act of protest against Nazi genocide.

> (Note: On February

> 17th, 2002, Hans proudly accepted an honorary award

> for his parents,

> Hugo & Wijbrigje Siegenthaler, from the “1939 Club,”

> in cooperation with

> the Los Angeles Consulate General of Israel and Yad

> Vashem, at the

> Beverly Hills Hotel, recognizing the couple as

> “righteous among the

> nations” in tribute to their noble sacrifice and

> service toward the

> Jewish community during the Holocaust.)

>

> Hans exclaims that their meeting was “by design.”

> Having met in

> Amsterdam through a vegetarian youth group called

> “Witte Guilde”

> or the White Guild, their early relationship was

> fraught with both

> romance and adventure, but always tinged with a

> no-nonsense

> practicality. Hans loves to jokingly recall an

> incident during their

> courtship when they accidentally stumbled onto

> German territory during

> an innocent Sunday bicycle ride through a pretty

> forest in 1949. After

> resting on a bench inscribed with the phrase “Nur

> pour l’amour”

> (translated as “Only for Love”), they ignored the

> sign marking the

> border (as they had always done in peacetime) and

> continued on with

> their excursion. But war changes things, and this

> time they were in for

> trouble. “We were stopped by a German with a gun,

> taken to the local

> police station, and then to jail in Gronau. We

> stayed two nights and

> days in separate cells. Coby put her make-up mirror

> through the bars on

> the door window so we could wink to each other.”

> Their eyes still

> sparkle when they look at each other.

>

> The following year, having secured steady work as a

> chemical

> engineer in Zaandam, Holland, as well as a place to

> live amidst

> a terrible housing shortage, Hans finally proposed

> to his bride-

> to-be in a little rowboat and they wed within the

> month. “I picked

> up Coby with my bicycle at the hospital, she

> (sitting) on the

> luggage carrier on the back of my bike in her white

> nurse’s dress.

> Up to the town hall for our marriage license. We

> married on

> December 22, 1951, the first day of the year when it

> starts

> becoming lighter.” An appropriate beginning for a

> loving union

> that has continued to become more radiant with each

> passing day,

> brightening not only each other’s lives, but those

> of everyone

> lucky enough to stumble across their path.

>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

>

>

 

 

=====

 

Dear Friends,

 

-Due to too many telemarketing calls, I screen all my calls now. Please leave a

message if you want to get hold of me. Thanks

 

FYI-Countries with the highest consumption of dairy like America have the

highest amount of osteoporosis. Whereas, countries with low dairy consumption

like China and Japan have the lowest rate of osteoporosis.

 

 

 

 

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