Ursula Devine passed away Tuesday, May 7 ^th in her home in Fredericksburg, Texas, a day before she was to celebrate her 88 ^th birthday.

Ursula, or Uschi to many, was a woman of the world, but more importantly she was a fixture in the communities where she lived. Born Ursula Dieterich in Berlin to Augusta Ohler and Hans Dieterich in 1931. As a young teenager, Ursula was relocated to a small town north of Berlin in an effort to spare the children of the city from the daily bombing raids. When the town of Neuruppin was sacked by Russian forces she and her friend traversed the German countryside by foot with one bike with a broken wheel between them. They followed the railroad tracks nearly 70 kilometers back to Berlin to find her family amidst the rubble.

That same grit and determination led her to her next adventure which awaited her in America. At 17 years old she took a transatlantic ship and eventually ended up in Minnesota where her life began anew and she started her family. Eventually she moved to Minot, North Dakota where her family continued to grow and she laid down roots in the local community.

Ursula didn't believe in sitting on the sidelines and being a passive observer of History. She also had a strong commitment to her new home, the United States. While living in Minot, Ursula became extremely active in the North Dakota GOP and was an indispensable part of Senator Mark Andrews' campaign office as a volunteer. The rough and tumble of politics wasn't enough though. Ursula was active in the Minot community whether it was through the Art Club, Curling, or trap and skeet shooting and golfing with her friends at the Minot Country Club.

In 1983 Ursula started a new adventure in her life by moving from North Dakota to her new home in the Lone Star state. The town of Fredericksburg proved to be the most welcoming community for the girl from Berlin, and it was while visiting a college in San Antonio for her daughter that she decided Fredericksburg would be her new home and adventure. She immediately connected with the close-knit community and carried on her political work by connecting with Faye Kelly and the Texas Republican Women. She was also a staple on Main Street the entire time she lived there, first as part-owner of Kids on Main, Manager of Der Alte Fritz , or owning and operating her own gift shop.

For years she travelled the world with friends, and everywhere she went she seemed to make new friends. Her adventurous spirit and natural curiosity led her to all corners of the earth and indulged her need to know different cultures and people. She especially enjoyed her trips back to Europe which were especially meaningful for her years after she left the continent she once called home.

There came a time when she was no longer able to travel the world but that didn't stop her from taking an interest in the world's affairs. Ursula was a voracious reader and was always on top of the current events here in America (reading the Wall Street journal cover to cover every morning), and abroad – by reading the newspapers in her native German on her kindle when she had the chance.

Her memory lives on across this great country through her children Susan Feist, Thomas Gehl, John Gehl, Mary Weiner and Stephanie Clemons; as well as her twelve grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Oma carried within her heart stories about each and every one of her grandchildren, and regaled them with heartfelt accounts of their childhood, and even the occasional embarrassing anecdote followed by her one of a kind laugh.

In a letter from Senator Andrews, the senator laments, "we'll miss you, lots, and wish you a wonderful life in your new home. Texas should be so lucky." We all share those sentiments on this day, and in the days to come. We'll miss you, oodles and oodles, and wish you a wonderful life in your new home. We should count ourselves lucky to have been blessed with the privilege of having you in all of our lives. We'd say "I love you" to Ursula, but then we know her response even in silence… "I love you more."

In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Hill Country SPCA or St. Mary's School Endowment Fund.