Anneliese Oberreit

Anneliese Oberreit passed away peacefully in her home on Thursday April 7th at age 88 after a 10 year battle with Lewy Body Dementia. The following was provided by her daughter Audrey.

Anneliese was born in Regensburg, Germany on June 4th, 1927 to Karl and Francesca Eckl. She attended Berufschule in Straubing, Germany where she received a teaching degree, and served as a nurse with the German Red Cross. She immigrated to the US during World War II. She worked as a dental assistant in New Jersey and soon met her husband Dietrich at a New Jersey Ski Club ball. They married in 1953 and had three children, Audrey, Clifford and Kenny. Sharing a love of the mountains and skiing, in 1963 they loaded the kids into the station wagon and drove across country to the as yet undeveloped Jackson Hole Ski Area. They followed their dream of building a ski lodge, The Alpenhof, which they operated for 25 years.

Anneliese put her heart and soul into managing the Alpenhof Lodge. From the front office to the dining room to housekeeping, Anneliese answered phones, cooked, made beds, and trained the staff. It was hard work, which she always did with great energy and a smile. She was always kind, generous and fair, and charmed the customers and staff alike with her graciousness and sharp sense of humor. A hard worker and smart businesswoman, she always found a way around any problem and did it with a smile. She taught us all to work hard and do what’s right, be honest and fair, and treat the customer as ‘king’.

The Alpenhof had many return guests year after year in no small part due to Anneliese’s attention to detail and charm. When Anneliese Sport Fashions was added on to the Lodge, Anneliese outfitted her customers in the best of style.

With her love of the outdoors, she instilled in us kids not only a love of skiing, but also a love of hiking and camping. She took us on many a backpacking trip, laughed if we whined about the weight of our packs, and distracted us by pointing out the beauty of it all. She loved the wildflowers and you could hear her exclaim around every bend “Would you just LOOK at this BEAUTIFUL carpet of WILDFLOWERS!”

She and Dietrich divorced in 1983; after they sold the Alpenhof in 1989 Anneliese started spending some of her time in Arizona where she enjoyed swimming and line dancing and being near her sister Eleanore.

Known as ‘Oma’ to her grandchildren, she loved babysitting and showing them off, making sure they had their favorite treats and doing all kinds of thoughtful things to make them feel special and loved.

Sadly, Lewy Body Dementia started to claim her mind and body in 2005. She moved into Audrey & Jim’s guesthouse where she charmed a wonderful team of caregivers for whose love and excellent care the family is eternally grateful. She had the best quality of life possible under the circumstances, never lost her sense of humor, and was gracious to the end.

She will be remembered for all this and so much more, and so very missed by her children Audrey (& Jim) Sorensen of Jackson, Clifford (& Kelley) Oberreit of Grand Prairie Texas, and Kenny (& Kathy) Oberreit of Jacksonville Florida; her 7 grandchildren - Marliese, Ana, Savannah, Phoebe, Rose, Robbie and Hope; and her great grandchildren Kayleigh and Mason. She will also be missed by her sisters Eleanore and Maria, her brother Karl, her nieces and nephews and her wonderful caregivers who will always be a part of the family - Judy, Vicki, Shannon, Trena, Rena, Debbie, Jan, Valoy and Danni.

No services are planned. The family plans to spread her ashes along some of her favorite hiking trails this summer, surrounded of course by ‘beautiful carpets of wildflowers’. Remembrance donations may be made to The Senior Center of Jackson Hole, or St. John’s Hospice and Home Health. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.valleymortuaryjackson.com .