Wolfgang Walter Born

Wolfgang Born was born June 12, 1940 in Dresden Germany to Annaliese and Paul Born. He died at home, surrounded by family, on March 4, 2021 in Sequim, WA.
Wolfgang’s father died in World War II on the Russian Front when he was only 4 years old. He felt sadness about losing his father his entire life, and always felt a responsibility for looking after his mother and younger sister.

Wolfgang’s mother and grandmother raised him and his sister in the Catholic Faith. They miraculously survived the fire bombing of Dresden, and the poverty and lack of food in the city during the post war years. Their faith carried them through some of the most difficult times during those years.

Growing up in communist East Germany, he suffered insults and harassment because of his religion. Being an outspoken young man, he chafed under the restrictions of the totalitarian state. Religious oppression, and restrictions on freedom of expression, led him to start dreaming of America. At age 17, he escaped from East Germany, through Berlin and came to New York in 1957. Once getting himself established in a steady job in the printing industry, he arranged to get his mother and sister out of East Germany. In 1960, shortly before the Berlin Wall went up, they escaped as well, and joined him in NY.

On August 1, 1964, he married the love of his life, Elfriede Herr. They had 2 children, Paul Born and Stephen Born. After 40 years working in the printing industry, in 1998, they traveled across the country to retire in their own personal paradise in Sequim, WA.

Wolfgang loved nature and the outdoors, and saw the hand of God in every tiny flower and blade of grass. His faith was reinforced by every mountainside and scenic vista. He saw the majesty of God in every tiny sapling, and in every old growth tree.

He enjoyed hiking, traveling, visiting his beloved Dresden, and showing-off the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula to friends and family. He volunteered for the local salmon restoration project and was a member of a local hiking group. His vegetable and flower gardens were his refuge, and he made raspberry wine from the berries in his own garden. He loved going for walks in the forest at the local parks, and went several times each week.

He followed international current events closely, and was saddened by the greed, violence, war, and destruction of nature that we see too often in this world. Through it all, his faith guided him his entire life. He truly believed in promoting peace, and helping the poor and less fortunate in the world, and his faith was a comfort to him and his family in his final days.

Wolfgang is preceded in death by his mother Annaliese Born, father Paul Born, and brother-in- law Konrad Schlierf.

He is survived by his wife Elfriede, sons Paul Born and Stephen (Jane) Born, sister Gabriele Schlierf, and numerous nieces, nephews, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pax Christi USA, Catholic Relief Services, or Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County.

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