Obituary

Mrs. Barbara Meinzen Amt Manske, was Called to Glory on Friday, December 6 in Lake Forest, CA.

Barbara Meinzen Amt Manske was born on January 7, 1940, in Chicago, IL, the daughter of Arthur Louis Amt and Ellen Marie Frieda Elizabeth (Meinzen) Amt.  She is survived by her siblings, Eunice Meinzen Amt Hoeft, Philip Meinzen (Suzanne) Amt, and Linda Meinzen Amt Myers.

Barbara Manske received her BA from Valparaiso University in 1961.  She served as a Commissioned Deaconess with a major in Theology and minor in Sociology.  Her first assignment was to Trinity Lutheran School in Hammond, IN.

In 1963, she was called to be a Deaconess at Grace Lutheran Church, Los Angeles, California. While there, she met and married Charles Manske in 1966. They have been blessed with a son, David, who is married to Tammy; a daughter, Christy, who is married to Kristopher Schneider; a daughter Noël, who is married to Michael Fairchild; and eight grandchildren: Stephen (25), Nicolas (23), Ethan (21), Samantha (21), Jack (20), Karlyn (18), George (18) and Katherine (16).

In 1974, their young family moved to Irvine, CA to help start a new Lutheran college.  Christ College Irvine was founded in 1976 and Barbara was an actively involved President’s wife who made many friends for the school.

In 1983, she was called to serve as Preschool Director to the Shepherd of Peace Lutheran Preschool in Irvine, CA (now called Light of Christ).  She became a well-loved Preschool Director and served until her retirement in 2000.

Services will be held at Light of Christ Lutheran Church, Irvine, CA on January 25 at 10 am with a catered lunch after in the Fellowship Hall.  For those unable to attend, the service will be live streamed (Watch a service) at 10:00 am PST.

Cards of condolence may be sent to Noël Fairchild, 14782 Elm Ave, Irvine, CA 92606

 In lieu of flowers or gifts, please consider making a donation in memory of Barbara to the Light of Christ Lutheran Preschool Building Fund (GIVING) -checks may be written to “Light of Christ Lutheran Church” with “Barbara Manske” in the memo line.

Or please consider donating in memory of Barbara to the Manske Scholarship Endowment at Concordia University Irvine. This endowment provides ongoing scholarships for churchwork students. Gifts can be made online at cui.edu/giving. Checks can be made out to Concordia University Irvine and mailed to 1530 Concordia West Irvine, CA 92612.