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My dearest Eva,

when summer tiptoes back into the trees and the shadows grow soft again, I think of you as I do every single day since that night, three years ago, when the world changed in a breath, and you slipped, silently, into another place.

I often try to imagine where you are now. In my heart, I see a realm made for you brimmed with sunlight and quiet laughter, with golden meadows and flower-thick gardens, lovingly tended by your gentle hands. Perhaps there are alpine slopes and wind-swept ridges, high with snow and wide with sky, where you can ski again, as you once did, joyfully and free.

I hope you have plum cake there, the kind with just enough sweetness and plenty of schlag, and a bicycle that carries you through green valleys without end, and an IPA in a cozy round, with people who laugh with you while you play Sequence or Scrabble. I hope your days are filled with the scents of warm earth and blossoms, and that the people you once longed for are now near - whole, smiling, and as glad to see you as you are to see them.

The world here stumbles on without you. It turns, yes, but askew. I miss you with an ache that does not fade, only changes shape. And yet, you are with me. In morning light, in a sudden burst of wind, in the quiet between thoughts. In the echo of your laughter that memory has so tenderly preserved.

May the heaven that holds you now be kinder than the earth ever was. And may you know, wherever you are, that you are still beloved: deeply, daily, fiercely.

Yours always, Robby

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You are very much missing on this special day, but the love in my heart keeps you alive. I wish I could congratulate for a happy birthday in person today. I think of you with love. May angels protect you on your birthday and let you know how much I love you and miss you.

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The second year without You and it doesn't get any easier

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The second year without You and it doesn't get any easier

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We were once two, now we are one,

One of us absent, yet the bond's never gone.

But no one is missing, no need to discover,

Because one is always with the heart of the other.

My life is no longer what it was. You have left a gap that can only be filled by the memories of you and the time we spent together, my dear Eva. We often talk about you here, your opinions, your quick wit, your advice and wisdom. And of the many moments when we would have been really happy. I wish you were here. And yet you are: in my thoughts and in my heart. Always.

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My dear Eva,
unfortunately it wasn't possible for you to celebrate your 80th birthday on 24.07.2023. It would have been a great celebration of a  wonderful anniversary of my best shining friend. We were not to be granted the time to go to Yellowstone. You said it was paradise. That was our last dream together. I wish that you are well where you are now. You live on in and with me. We will meet again where paradise is waiting for us.
Happy Birthday anyway!
Yours, Robby

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One Year Without You, My Dearest Friend Ever

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One Year Without You, My Dearest Friend Ever

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They say time heals all wounds. I haven’t found the time yet.

No, I haven’t forgotten anything, our happiness and hedonism, our travels and discussions, your entire dear family and your invaluable true friends, your confidence and strength, your care and love. So many things remind me of you. So many things we would have loved to still share. Losing you was the hardest thing I ever had to suffer, and missing you my greatest sorrow.
Every new day makes me realize how much I miss you.
My thoughts are so often with you and the memory for you fills my heart.
May God bless all those who love you and still remember you after a year without you, and give them comfort and joy.
In gratitude and love. Yours, Robby

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It's been more than half a year since you left us and there really hasn't been a single day since then that I haven't thought of you, talked about you or looked at your photos.

I know I am not the only one who mourns and misses you sorely.

As I will be spending the turn of the Year away from civilization in the South Pacific in the forthcoming weeks, I want to wish all your beloved ones, family and friends in Michigan, Ontario and Bavaria a blessed Christmas in peace and harmony, that everyone is happy carrying you in their hearts and thinking of you.

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There are people who radiate something wonderful. It's not easy to describe, but you look them in the face and you smile. Just like that.

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Meine liebe Eva,
you, my great friend, were one of the most beautiful gifts of my life from the day we met. I have nothing for you today except my loving thoughts and my tears that I shed every day.
You made my world so precious and marvelous and colorful, and as long as I live, I will cherish every single moment I spent with you.
Happy birthday Schätzchen! (That's what you called me.)
You are infinitely missed!

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Vacation with Eva always meant adventure, fun, excitement and good living. The best vacations I ever had in America were with her in Canada and Alaska.

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Our group of 8 enjoying our tradition of celebrating our birthdays together: Dieter, Carol, Mary, Eva, Chris, Sheryl, Ed and Rita

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Our group of 8 became close friends over 35 years, having originally met through xc skiing, bicycling or work (Mary).

Dieter and I met Eva on our bicycle club outing in Stratford, Ontario, in 1987. Just returned from our Honeymoon, we shared stories with her of our romantic hikes in the Swiss mountains, enhanced by the musical echoes of Alpenhorns. Tears came to her eyes and we knew we had met a soulmate. Ever after, she was a dear friend.

We so enjoyed being part of Eva’s adventures in opera, art, xc skiing and bicycling. Especially memorable was skiing with Eva in rural Northern Michigan, where her vivacious nature charmed even the locals in the town’s dancing bar. Caring, nurturing and loving to all of her friends, she shared her many talents freely and generously. This included introducing us to her favorite places, be it “Up North” in Michigan or the Swiss Engadine Valley or the Opera House in Detroit. And so much more.

Eva took great pleasure in arranging fun social gatherings for her friends and she was a specialist in “Gemuetlichkeit”: conveying a feeling of warmth, friendliness and good cheer, often enhanced by her memorable “Pflaumenkuchen mit Schlag”. Even during her illness, she continued to reach out to others, especially her friends, with kindness and concern for their well being.

We will greatly miss her but her love will live on.

Carol & Dieter Hohnke

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Eva with friends in Valašské Klobouky, Czech Republic. Although she was only there twice, she was definitively part of the family for all of us who traveled with her to Alaska, who grew up and old together by staying connected through video calls, letters and packages and who shared a friendship that is unique.

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Eva had a very special relationship with Switzerland, as she always said, her favorite travel destination. Whether it was at family reunions there or cross-country skiing events with her friends in Grisons, hiking in Valais around the Matterhorn, or visiting her dear friend Esther and her family in Zurich. She kept on planning to travel back to Zurich once again this August.
We last met here in December 2017 and had a wonderful pre-Christmas time together. Eva had long since become part of my family in Germany.
Especially my niece Clara adored her tremendously. They all are sad that a reunion came to nothing and to lose a fun-loving and jolly, a catching and inspiring, young at heart person whom everyone knew was the best friend of mine.
Robby & family from Chemnitz & Limbach-Oberfrohna, Germany.

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JÜrg and I we met Eva when she came to Madulain /Engadin in the Swiss alps with her siblings. We instantly connected and met several times in Switzerland and later spent a holiday with Evy in Ann Arbour. We had a lovely time. She took us to see friends on Lake Supperior and to a golf park on the way there where we could stay at her Florida friend‘s house. She took us to the Detroit Opera to see Tourandot. And all the while we felt very close and precious to each other.
Unfortunately we all did not succeed to meet again. Europe and the States just aren‘t close enough. I do miss my friend Eva, the feeling of joy to have each other, the easy friendship and connection.
A big hug to all her loved ones also from
Jürg my husband,
Esther from Meilen/Zurich Switzerland

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A memorial has been planned. And invites have been sent. If we have missed someone - we apologize, as Eva has touched so many people. If you would like information - please contact Kevin at qcoin@aol.com. Thank You.

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Celebrating Michael's (grandson) Birthday

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Miss them both!!

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Last holiday spent with parents before everyone's health, unfortunately, started. Fun times playing left, right, center dice game and having lots of laughs.

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Another x-country ski trip to Switzerland

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Another x-country ski trip to Switzerland

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Eva planned it all! (And did an expert job.) -Ed

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and kayaking, x-country skiing and bicycling (long distances) and she was very good at all of them. I think that was part of the reason Tom Asmus called her Eisenfrau. This was in the UP. -Ed

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Eva organized at least 3 x-country skiing and hiking trips to Switzerland for friends. She planned the transportation, accommodations and destination. She could have had a career as an expert trip guide.  It would have suited her gregariousness and love of travel and outdoor sports perfectly.   -Ed

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We heated up playing through the nights, we warmed up singing Little Marleen in bitter cold, we cooled down enjoying noble wines and not sharing too many beers. We almost died of laughter and you brought every boredom to life. You stifled many a doubter with your dignity, paved impassable ways with your pride. You flooded many a room with your good humor and vibrant energy. It was not always easy with you, Eva, but it was always a piece of paradise that you were there.

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Throwback photo of Eva enjoying the outdoors.

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Eva loved spending time with her grandchildren, and they loved their Oma very much!

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Eva and I met in the spring of 1994. She welcomed me into her house and took me into her life.

I was in my early 20s, a young student and poor wretch from East Germany, for whom five years ealier it had been completely unthinkable to travel behind the Iron Curtain. From the beginning, we were connected by the common story of a childhood in poverty and deprivation, wild card geniuses in our ideas with wide open hearts, romantic dreams in our heads and fernweh in our souls. It was in 1994 that I had first been to Ann Arbor with Eva to meet her unique friends, who remain true friends to her beyond her death and became friends to me as well.  Eva became not only a part of my life, but a part of me. Like Eva, I came to love Ann Arbor, the most beautiful spot on earth, a kind of native soil and home away where we came from. Many times I visited her there. It became our tradition to eat at Sidetrack in Yspilanti, one of our favorite restaurants. This, our last photo together, was taken here in February.

What a wonderful 28 years they were. Thank you for that and all the moments together, every single one, wherein you, Eva my best friend ever, are immortal.

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Eva - still can't believe you are gone - the most fun of all of us 5 sisters. Laughter and energy was your middle name. And thoughtfulness as well.

We were so close from childhood on, with far too many mutual adventures and experiences to even begin to list them here. Shared ups and downs always.

So grateful that I visited you February 2020, just before all travel was shut down, and then two days before you left us, one last, caring conversation.

Life is so much emptier without you.

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Ten words to describe Eva from my perspective - adventurous, creative, fun-lov ing, a hugger, fabulous host, fabulous cook, generous, a flirt, smart, passionate. I admired her for what she did in her life - raised two boys alone while getting her Masters degree, built a career that allowed her self-sufficiency, all the while being a wonderful aunt, a great friend, an organizer of parties/events/trips. She had a full, full life. I was lucky to have her share it with me. Rest in peace, Eva. Love, angela

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From the moment I met Eva she was Oma to me and my kids. We didn’t know her as anything else. She was so kind hearted and treated us like family. She gifted some kids books to my daughter that she will cherish forever. My daughter loved her so much as did I. I wish we were able to meet her in her good years. I heard she was an absolutely amazing person. We will miss you so much Oma and We will always cherish the memories we did get with you. ~Alana, Caleb and Juliann

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At our usual place -Detroit Filling Station enjoying some tasty vegan food and beer.  Eva invited me many years ago to meet her at a vegan health spa she went to in Hallendale, FL that was called The Regency Health Spa that changed me from a vegetarian to a vegan for which I am forever thankful.  I’m so very sad about her sudden passing and going to miss her as she was a terrific person and friend in so many ways.

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Eva and I show off our recent dental work. We go to the same dentist in case that's not obvious.

-Ed Steinman

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The look when she didn't completely appreciate what you said or did. I've seen that look often.

-Ed Steinman

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Eva is synonymous with parties. She made many and at those she didn't make she was the life of the party.

-Ed Steinman

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Here is the beautiful Trudy. She has been in my care (Jessica) since Oma went into assisted living. She trusted me with her care and Trudy will continue to stay with me as her forever home. I am truly honored to care for her as we all know my grandmother loved her dearly. ❤️ Trudy is doing very well and getting lots of loving.

-Jessica Forman

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An in person memorial is being planned. More information will be coming soon. Please continue to check back here for the date and location.

Thank you,
Forman Family

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Please share any photos, memories, stories, etc. To do this, you can click the "+" under the designated sections. After this, it will pop up with a tab for you to upload, photos, link, image, selection, and more. The text box under it is where you type. Then click publish! If you have any question or issues on this process please reach out to formanj5@msu.edu

Best,
FF