Sophie K. Ohlsson

The church bells of Stadtkirche in Bad Hersfeld, Germany marked many of the significant events in the life of longtime Plymouth and Detroit resident Sophie Katharina Ohlsson. She died of pneumonia Wednesday at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti. She was 80. Her family played recordings of the bells for her while she was in the hospital. Born in Bad Hersfeld in 1924, Mrs. Ohlsson grew up in Nazi Germany, where food shortages, Allied bombings and air raid sirens were a way of life. She lost her older brother in the war and survived two major tragedies - a near fatal bout of diphtheria and a train bombing. As a young girl, she had hoped to go to college and study law, but the war changed that. Fortunately, the war also brought her a husband. During the US occupation, a telephone lineman, Detroit GI William Ohlsson, persuaded his landlady to invite the attractive Sophie Gerwig to dinner so he could meet her. Their courtship led to a near 59 year marriage. The church bells at Stadtkirche pealed after their wedding on July 3, 1946. Later, their son Bill Jr, and daughter Heidi, were baptized at the same church. As an adult, Bill Sr. climbed the Stadtkirche tower to record the bells. From that time forward, the church bells became a family tradition that would be heard on holidays, family celebrations and every Sunday morning. The family came to the United States in 1948 aboard the Queen Elizabeth I and bought a house on Detroit's west side, where Mrs. Ohlsson soon learned that being a German war bride was not easy in a country that had just defeated the Nazis. She taught herself English by watching "Lady of Charm" on television, and would welcome new neighbors with freshly baked pastries. She was active in her children's school and was a longtime member of the choir at Evergreen Lutheran Church in Detroit. "She always took great pride in being a wife and mother. She always made a special effort to help people less fortunate than she was, and never did anything by half measures," said Heidi Schacher, her daughter. Mrs. Ohlsson and her husband moved to Plymouth in 1981. Bill owned Plasteel Corp in Inkster. In addition to her husband, son and daughter, she is survived by seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Visitation will be Friday 2 - 9 PM at Vermeulen Funeral Home, 46401 West Ann Arbor Road, (between Sheldon and Beck) Plymouth. Funeral Service is 11 AM Saturday. Interment is at Glen Eden Memorial Park, 35667 West 8 Mile Road, Livonia. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105. To leave a message of condolence for the family, click on the Online Condolences link on this page.

Sophie K. Ohlsson

March 23, 2005