Hanne Gertrud Calcina (nee Hoffmann) of Jamestown, Rhode Island passed away peacefully surrounded by family on Valentine's Day at the age of 92. Born in 1933 in Loerrach, Germany on the edge of the Black Forest and just over the border from Basel, Switzerland, Hanne became a nurse but later moved to France as a young woman to immerse in the culture and study the French language. While living in Paris, Hanne enrolled in additional language studies and gained some fluency in Italian and Dutch, adding to her proficiency with French, English, and German. She put her language skills to good use working in the foreign language department of the Swiss pharmaceutical company Geige.
In 1966, Hanne's wanderlust brought her to the United States and Manhattan, where she lived in Greenwich Village and advertised German lessons in the paper. Her future husband Philip answered the ad, continuing his studies with his beautiful, witty and vivacious instructor. When Hanne embarked on a cross-country trip with two other German women she befriended in the city, Phil did not want to risk losing his teacher to fate, so he proposed over the phone. Hanne accepted, and after touring the West with her two friends in a Ford Falcon with a tent and campground guide, she and Phil married and moved to Southern California where they welcomed a daughter. Phil's work then brought them back East, and they settled in Jamestown, which Hanne called "love at first sight". They soon welcomed a son.
Hanne and Phil shared much love for the arts and classical music. She was a passionate homemaker, cook and gardener, and a friend to many. While she was never entirely free of homesickness for her beloved mountains of South Germany, she instilled a love of nature in her children, with a week or two in the White Mountains of New Hampshire a part of many happy summers.
Hanne helped care for the sick and elderly in Jamestown, and sang with the Westerly Chorus led by George Kent. With a keen eye for detail and precision Hanne later took up gilding and porcelain repair which she pursued until her diminishing eyesight prohibited it. A determined and big-hearted woman, Hanne is survived by her son Darius Victor of Jamestown and Colorado, daughter Justine and son-in-law Tom Shire; a half-sister, Ursula, and half-brother, Helmut, both of Germany. Donations in Hanne's name may be given to Medicins Sans Frontieres.
