Obituary of Inge Eppert

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing away of Inge (Luetzeler) Eppert on December 11, 2023 at the Doctor Everett Chalmers Hospital in Fredericton.

 

Born in Birkesdorf, Germany on January 4, 1937, to Katerina and Franz Luetzeler, she was the middle of three children.

 

Following graduation from the Gymnasium, Angela Shule, Dueren, Germany in 1954, she completed a three-year apprenticeship in dress making, became a certified journeyman, and spent a journeyman year at a prestigious Cologne Fashion House. She would go on to study fashion, theatre costume, graphics and design at the College of Fine Art in Cologne and subsequently act as a Fashion-Designer and Directess for two fashion houses in Bonn and Cologne.

 

In the 1960s, Inge studied visual art and lived in Yangon, Myanmar and Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA, before immigrating to Canada and settling in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where she would raise her three children, work as a freelance artist, and become an instructor at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design. In the late 1970s, she resided in Iran and Singapore, before returning to Fredericton in 1980, and eventually establishing and becoming head of the NB College’s Fashion Design Studio until her retirement in 1997.

 

During these decades, she additionally participated in group art exhibitions in such venues as the Fredericton Playhouse and the Christ Church Cathedral, and had solo exhibitions at the University of New Brunswick Harriet Irving Library, Gallery 78, and Fredericton’s National Exhibition Centre. She designed costumes for two Gilbert and Sullivan Society of Fredericton’s musical productions, conducted workshops on various art and design topics, including Chinese brush painting (which she studied while in Singapore), served as judge and juror for several fashion competitions, and organized numerous fashion shows (including “Fashion Celebration 90” held at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery).

 

A particularly proud moment was when she was commissioned by the New Brunswick government to sketch period costumes for the 1984 publication of a Bicentennial costume brochure, illustrations which were subsequently placed on display at the York Regional Library.

 

Family and friends remember Inge as lively, warm, creative, a fierce advocate for others and for what she believed in, and as having an infectious joyful smile. During her career, colleagues noted her expertise, talent, preparation, and the generous amounts of time she committed to her students.

 

In an article Inge published on storytelling, she cited the resonant quote: “I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge…. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things.

 

Inge is survived by her three children, Claudia, Markus, Kolja (Constantina) and grandchildren Nikolas and Christopher. Already waiting for her are her parents, and her siblings Robert and Helmut.

 

The family wishes to extend a special thank you for the care and friendship Inge received at Fredericton’s Shannex Retirement Living Community.

 

We welcome the sharing of any stories and memories of Inge.

 

For those who wish, memorial contributions can be made to the Schizophrenia Society of Canada at https://schizophrenia.ca/donate/.

 

To plant a tree in her memory, please visit https://www.alivingtribute.ca/