Ursula Erika Wise

We said goodbye to our mother, Ursula Erika Wise, 87, on Sunday, December 10, 2017. She died of natural causes at her home in Tacoma, WA. Mom lived a life worthy of a great cinematic success. Born to Franz and Helene Jurack, she began her life in Forst, Germany on October 15, 1930. At the age of fifteen her family fled the invasion of Russian troops by moving to Lenggries, Germany in Bavaria as refugees. Several years later she met a dashing young serviceman named Gilbert Wise. After a three-year courtship they were married. Gilbert returned to the states with his division in 1951 per military requirements. His beautiful, very pregnant bride followed on a separate ship. Mom has always been prone to motion sickness and this was not a pleasant journey for her. When Mom arrived in New York it was discovered that Gilbert was, to his surprise, actually a Canadian citizen, and thus could not sponsor her into the United States. Washington State Senator Warren Magnuson ended up sponsoring Mom into the states. The young couple then drove from New York to Washington State, another rough trip for the now 9-month pregnant Ursula, where they settled in the Tacoma area. There are more fun stories about Mom adjusting to American life, her practical and direct German approach to life and her fantastic German accent, which never softened even after 60 years in this country. The neighbor kids loved to ask her about her shopping trips to Piggly-Wiggly. And her favorite saying was, “Vell…., anyway.” Mom was an avid and accomplished gardener. It was a mixed blessing to live with the beautiful garden paradise that was our backyard but not be able to play in the yard for fear a ball might roll into the flowerbeds crushing a tender flower and setting off the wrath of mother. One of her great joys was working at Watson’s Nursery in Puyallup, WA and the friendships she made there. Mom was a good sport and loved to play all sorts of board and card games. Later in life she enjoyed spending Sunday afternoons gambling at the poker machines at the nearby casino. Ursula is survived by her three children; Gordon Wise, Kenneth Wise and (Helene) Jane (Wise) Bissonnette. She had four lovely grandchildren: Nicholas Wise, Vanessa (Wise) Wright, Rebecca Reese and Emily Bissonnette. She also had three great grandchildren. Ursula was preceded in death by her beloved sister, Margreta (Jurack) Raupach. A remembrance ceremony will be scheduled at a future date. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.