Helga Hildegard von Schweinitz

Helga was born in 1937 in Herford Germany, shortly before WWII, after passing the "Abitur" in 1957 and at the age of twenty, she decided to take a year off from attending the university and to spend some time in the USA. She did not flee poverty, persecution or the law, she was simply hungry for adventure.

Barely settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Helga fell in love and married another recent German immigrant, Hans von Schweinitz. Hans had been drafted and was in his first of twenty years of serving in the US Air Force in various parts of the world. They have two children, Bettina and Christopher, and three grandchildren, Matthew, Elena, and Michael.

Hans' career in the US Air Force made them live in several countries and they eventually came to Austin, Texas, in 1975 because Hans was stationed at Bergstrom AFB. In 1979 Hans retired from the US Air Force and they stayed in Austin. After Hans' retirement they began a second career. They would buy run-down houses and fix them up and either kept them as rentals or resell the homes. Later in 2007 they moved to Pflugerville, Texas, a small town northeast of Austin.

While her children were small, Helga continued her education and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of South Carolina. Helga taught foreign languages as a certified teacher in several states, including at Anderson High School in Austin Texas.

Helga has published in German and in English, including a three book series, Helga’s Corner, with tongue-in-cheek observations on the German language and culture. Helga has also contributed articles to various national and historic magazines.

Helga's interest in people and history included volunteering in many venues. She was very active with the German-Texan Heritage Society (GTHS), where her knowledge of all things German could be useful, especially since Helga can decipher the old German script used in many immigrants’ documents and letters. Helga became a member of GTHS in 1980 and she was director on the board for many years and President of the German Free School Guild for two years. Helga also established the Thursday lunch time "Stammtisch" at the German Free School, which is still being held. On 7 May 2009 Helga was presented with the "Federal Republic of Germany Friendship Award" for her many years of volunteer involvement in promoting friendly relationships between Germans and Americans. Helga was also active with the Austin-Koblenz Sister City Alliance.

Helga and her husband, Hans, enjoyed traveling and experiencing different cultures. They joined Friendship Force International and stayed with families in Chile, Brazil, the Argentines, Japan and European countries. They really enjoyed hosting visitors from several continents.

Helga is survived by her daughter Bettina; and son Christopher with wife Jill; grandchildren Matthew, Elena and Michael; her brother Diethard Pörtner; and sister Renate Altmann-Pörtner-Bittner.