Elisabeth “Liesel” Szelenyi, 82, died peacefully Jan. 29, surrounded by loved ones in her Bainbridge Island home.

She was born Jan. 13, 1923, in Langenargen, Germany on the Bodensee (Lake Constance), the oldest of five children.

Her family home also housed the fine bakery and pastry shop, that had been started by her grandparents and carried on by her parents. There she was an integral part of this family tradition.

It was there too, where she met her life’s love, Bela.

Together, they came to the United States in 1952, first settling in New Jersey and then spending 15 years in the coastal region of Maine before living in California and Minnesota and finally retiring in 1988 to the home they built on Bainbridge Island.

While in California, she dedicated several years of her life to the work she felt most passionate about, serving as a teacher’s aide for autistic children at a school in Ventura County.

On Bainbridge, as she had when she was young on the Bodensee, she enjoyed looking across the water at the beauty of the surrounding mountains.

She also liked being near her family and watching her granddaughter as she grew up.

Her garden gave her great enjoyment, and in her kitchen, she was a naturally gifted chef.

Her family was of utmost importance, and her friends and aquaintance all enjoyed her love.

She planned her travels to visit family and longtime friends in Europe.

She is survived by her husband, Bela; daughter Eva Maria Gerdts and her husband, George; and granddaughter, Caitlin Elisabeth Gerdts, a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador since July, 2002, all of Bainbridge Island; three sisters: Christine Van Durme, Mia Plusczyk, and Richilde Loy of Langenargen, Germany; and many nieces and nephews in Germany, La Reunion, France, and Hungary.

She was preceded in death by her brother, Ruprecht.

A memorial mass will be celebrated at 6 p.m. Feb. 10 at St. Cecilia Catholic Church. Interment will be at the family cemetery in Langenargen.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hospice of Kitsap County or the Gender and Development scholarship fund, on which her granddaughter has been working to enable young Ecuadoran women to finish their high school education. Checks can be made to G.A.D. c/o Caitlin Gerdts, P.O. Box 4687, Rolling Bay, WA 98061.

Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home, Bainbridge Island.