Lothar Kurt Janke (78) passed away peacefully on May 13, 2019 in the arms of his sweetheart and wife of 56 years and surrounded by family. Lothar was born in Langfuhr/Danzig, Germany on September 19, 1940 to Kurt Paul Janke and Elly Ida Erna Eggert. Lothar was in East Germany when the wall went up, separating him from family members in West Germany and the USA.
Longing to raise his own family beyond the reach of communism, he applied for permanent family reunification. After almost 20 years living behind the iron curtain, he was able to take his family out of East Germany, 9 years before the wall came down. Despite losing the use of his right arm in a motorcycle accident when he was 19, Lothar was a force to be reckoned with.
He started a furniture company, Old World Antiques, and finished beautiful custom furniture for many delighted customers. Being a product of post-war Germany, he was always working hard and making sure nothing was wasted. He would eat an apple down to the stem and probably would have swallowed the stem as well if someone didn’t take it away from him.
Lothar was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is fondly remembered as an amazing scout leader by his many former scouts. After all his years of hard work, building an amazing family business and big dreams for retirement, Parkinson’s Disease took hold with a vengeance and governed the last few years of his life. While his life here has come to an end, his adventures continue on without the constraints of his broken and battered body.
We are confident that he is reaching out right now to friends and strangers that have gone before. We can only imagine what kind of adventures he is getting himself into now. He may even be riding his favorite horse, Mon Cherie, only to realize that the afterlife may have calmed her spirit, but did nothing to her brutal staccato gait.
The family is grateful to the staff at Beehive Homes, especially Neri and Monika; to Sarah and all caretakers at Millcreek Signature Healthcare; and to neighbors, family and friends who would visit him or take him walking. He is survived by his wife Anita Gulla Janke; brother Fred (Becky); sister Hannelore; 4 children: Oliver (Julie), Matthias (Katie), Helena (Bret), Philip (Ashley); and 8 doting grandchildren. His whole family was able to be with him the evening that he passed.
We will miss you, Opa! Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, May 18th at 11:00 am at the East Millcreek Stake Center, 3103 East Craig Drive, SLC, UT, 84109.
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