Ingrid (Holst) Skeldon

Obituary Ingrid Skeldon of Tacoma, Washington, passed away on September 30, 2016. Ingrid was born on November 25, 1945 in Eutin (The Rose City), Germany to Rudolf and Kaete Holst. She was raised in the seaside resort of Dahme on the Baltic Sea and subsequently lived and loved her young adult life in Hamburg (Blankenese), Germany. It was there that she met and married her husband of 44 years, Dan, a young army officer stationed in that great north German city. Together they had two daughters, Angela and Meline by whom she is survived, as well as by her sons-in-law Charlie Driscoll and Spencer Marks and her beloved grandson, Danny Driscoll. Ingrid and Dan travelled the world together and lived in places from Germany to South Korea, Belgium to China and points east to west across the United States from Tacoma to West Point, New York, making invaluable and enduring friendships. Ingrid never tired of travelling for adventure, and never lost her love of the water, always seeking that "water view" wherever she went. She was delighted to live the final years of her life overlooking the waters of Commencement Bay. It was there in north Tacoma, which she came to love so well, that she was a docent for the Job Carr Museum for many years. Not only was Ingrid a beloved wife and mother, she was also an accomplished German language teacher. She taught in locales as diverse as the Tacoma German Language School and the JBLM Foreign Language and Cultural Center. She adored teaching soldiers about the German language and culture with a special emphasis on the City-State of Hamburg. She taught using methods as diverse as Montessori, Waldorf and Berlitz. Not least was her ability to teach using methods developed by the Defense Language Institute (DLI). Perhaps her greatest pride of accomplishment was her teaching stint as a German language and writing instructor at the Beijing, China Foreign Studies University. This point of deserved pride was closely followed by her satisfaction in producing on-line German language lessons for the DLI, an enduring part of her legacy. While all of her titles were important, none were more important to her than those of wife and mom. Her love for her family was unbounded and was proven time and again. It would be hard indeed to find a more giving, generous, loving heart and spirit than that of our Ingelein, Muettelchen, Mutz, Mimi - or simply Inge, as known by most. Wir lieben dich meine Inge. Funeral Mass will be celebrated Tuesday, October 11, 2016, 11:00 am, St. Patrick Catholic Church, Committal and Interment Wednesday, October 12, 2016 11:30 am, Tahoma National Cemetery.