By Staff
Mrs. Erna Maria Bienes of Havre de Grace, Md., died Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011, while under hospice care at Autumn Assisted Living in Bel Air, Md.
Mrs. Bienes was born in St. Michael, Styria, Austria, on April 14, 1923. She graduated from Childcare and early Childhood College in Magdeburg, East Germany. Early in her career, she was a children’s nurse and governess for a British diplomatic couple in Vienna and Washington, D.C. Prior to her retirement, she was a dedicated kindergarten teacher’s aide at Meadowvale Elementary School in Havre de Grace. She loved gardening, bridge, sewing clubs, world travel, charity work and volunteering for Meals on Wheels.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gunther Bienes, a German-born linguist in the U.S. Army. He also was a high-school educator teaching German, French and English.
Survivors include two sons, Jerry Bienes and wife, Nancy, of Washington, N.C., and Nick Bienes and his partner, Rhea Gallaher, of North Chatham, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The American Cancer Society or to an organization of one’s choosing.
Paid Obituary