Gerda Walz-Michaels

Gerda Walz-Michaels, born Gerda Sell on May 23, 1942, in Kiel, Germany, passed away peacefully at home in Storrs, Connecticut on January 23, 2023 at the age of 80. She had recently been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had started chemotherapy treatments for it.

Gerda loved beauty - flowers, art, classical music, nature, the ocean, a peaceful cup of tea, the complexity of the human mind. Gerda’s soul was filled with the view and fresh air when she walked every day along the spine of Horsebarn Hill in Storrs. She enjoyed traveling, especially trips to Germany, along with her husband David, to see her children, and to England to see her sister and brother-in-law. During David’s sabbatical years, they lived in Austria, Spain and Italy and had many stories to tell of those trips. Wherever she visited, Gerda found sights, food, people, and rituals to savor.

Gerda read widely – fiction, non-fiction, memoir, philosophy, art, spirituality, history – her home was filled with books! She was a member of several book groups, and she liked to host dinner parties, giving her community an occasion to exchange music and wisdom. Gerda was a keen observer and always sought and found connections among people and ideas.

As a teen, Gerda attended the progressive Odenwaldschule boarding school. There she met lifelong friends and her passion for education was nurtured. After her studies, she became an elementary and secondary school teacher in Hamburg, Germany and loved her students deeply. When she moved to the U.S., she got her Ph.D. in education at the University of Connecticut.

Gerda’s ultimate calling was as a poet. She published several books and was working on a new one at the time of her death. In her poetry, she examined her life – her childhood in Germany, the loss of her mother when Gerda was just nine, mothering her own children, navigating family relationships, the partnership of her marriage, the duality of her life as both German and American, both at home and not in two different places. In addition to the big themes, Gerda wrote poems about the turn of a sunflower on a hillside and meals on an airplane. She covered a lot of ground - deep issues, small phenomena, and humor.

Gerda was a thoughtful, generous, and caring friend and thus was beloved by many in Germany, Storrs, CT, and Fort Pierce, FL where she and David passed the winter months.

Gerda is survived by five children: Oliver Walz (and Kitti) of Berlin, Germany; Vanessa Walz (and Uli, and granddaughter Elena) of Hamburg, Germany; Daisy Schilling (and Felix, and grandson Theo) of Frankfurt, Germany; Rebekah Michaels (and Eric) of Boston, MA; and Susannah Michaels (and Ben) of Madison, WI. She is also survived by sisters Christa Harrison in Wylam, England, Conny Mähnß (and Jürgen) in Asselfingen, Germany, and by her first husband, Jockel Walz of Hamburg, Germany. Gerda is preceded in death by her husband of 36 years, David Michaels, and by three of her five siblings.

Gerda’s life was dedicated to loving and being loved. As she approached death, she was filled with awe at all she had witnessed and experienced. “My whole life is a miracle,” she said, “I had everything.”

A memorial service will be held in July 2023 in Storrs, Connecticut.

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