Lydia E. Brandt

Lydia E. Brandt, 86, of St. Joseph, passed away Tuesday, July 31, 2007, at Caretel Inns of Royalton in St. Joseph. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Friday at Oakridge Baptist Church, 766 Oakridge Dr., St. Joseph with Rev. Dave Broome officiating. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery, St. Joseph. Friends may call from 6 until 8:30 P.M. Thursday at Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Memorials may be made to Oakridge Baptist Church or Child Evangelism Fellowship of Southwest Michigan. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Mrs. Brandt was born October 31, 1920 in Germany to Leo & Elise (Neuhaus) Mueller. On July 22, 1948, she married Albert Brandt in Berlin, Germany. On March 7, 1955 the family emigrated from Germany to the United States, settling here in the Twin Cities. Mrs. Brandt was employed at Memorial Hospital in St. Joseph as a nurse aid, and also in private home health care. She was a charter member of Oakridge Baptist Church where she was active in missions, vacation bible school, and as a Sunday School Teacher. In her spare time Lydia enjoyed tending to her flower & vegetable gardens, and taking care of the many birds in her yard. She continued her nursing skills by looking after her husband Albert, who needed and enjoyed her special, loving care. Mrs. Brandt is survived by her husband of fifty-nine years, Albert; her daughter Renate (Michael) Pennington of St. Joseph; her son Reinhard (Carol) Brandt of St. Joseph; three grandsons-Matthew (Nanette) Pennington of St. Joseph, Jonathan Pennington of Kalamazoo, Nathan Pennington of St. Joseph; one great-grandson Bailey Pennington; and her sister Gerda Lipinski of Germany. Lydia was preceded in death by her son Wolfgang Albert Brandt in 1952, and by two brothers & one sister.