Ilse Friedrich Engler

Ilse Friedrich Engler, 85, of Due West, wife of the late Dr. Hans Gustav Gerhard Engler, died Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at The Renaissance in Due West. She was born on December 23, 1938, in Lichtentanne, Germany to the late Rudolf and Irene Rank Friedrich.

The difficulties of World War II and its aftermath shaped her early childhood. The influence of her mother’s strong Christian faith led her to be confirmed in the Evangelische Kirche in 1952, despite strong communist discouragement. When her father returned in 1954 after nine years in Soviet POW captivity, the family reunited in West Berlin. There she studied at the Höhere Wirtschaftsschule in Berlin-Charlottenburg, and eventually procured employment as foreign-language correspondent first at the Deutscher Normenauschuss and later at the Rembrandt-Verlag publisher. In 1960, a friend’s recommendation landed her a job as driver and homemaker in Raleigh, NC, for Betty and Romer Delmas Watson, who was legally blind. They encouraged and assisted her in furthering her education, and she graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Master’s of Arts in Germanic Languages. During this time, she met her future husband, also from Germany. After marrying in 1972 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Greenville, SC, the two began a life together in Due West, where he was an instructor at Erskine College and Seminary. She continued teaching German and Russian at Furman University, where she took students on educational trips to Vienna, a city she loved. Upon the birth of her daughter in 1976, she became a full-time mother, raising her and later a son in a bilingual home, with summer trips to the relatives in Berlin. In addition, she was often engaged in organizing children’s German classes and assisting Russian and Ukrainian refugees. After her children were grown, she resumed teaching full-time, first at Georgia Tech University and Morris Brown College in Atlanta, and later at Clemson University. After her husband’s death in 2011, she took over his teaching duties at Erskine, retiring in 2013. She was a faithful member of Due West ARP Church, Circle #1, and sang in the Chancel Choir for many years.

In addition to her husband and parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Erika Lückfeld, and two brothers, Roland and Gerhard Friedrich.

Mrs. Engler is survived by her daughter, Cornelia Engler-Debuchy (Jean-Michel) of Lille, France; son, Friedrich ‘Fred’ Engler (Melissa) of Due West, SC; brother, Hartmut Friedrich (Regine) of Adendorf, Germany; sister, Gertraud Fiesser-Friedrich (Hartmut) of Mörlenbach/Ober Mumbach, Germany; and three grandchildren, Lola Engler-Debuchy, Samuel Engler-Debuchy, and Eva Engler.

Funeral services will be Friday, October 11 at 2:10pm at Due West ARP Church with Rev. Scott Moore officiating. Burial will follow in Due West ARP Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends following the service.

Memorial contributions, in memory of Mrs. Engler, may be sent to the Due West ARP Church, Attn: Chancel Choir, PO Box 397, Due West, SC 29639.

A message of condolence may be sent to the family by visiting www.harrisfuneral.com.

Harris Funeral Home & Cremation Services of Abbeville is assisting the Engler family.