Ortraut Zwemke

June 10, 1921 - March 25, 2016

Ortraut (Orty) Zwemke passed away peacefully on March 25, 2016 at Mountain Ridge Assisted Living. She was 95 at the time of her death. Orty was born in a small town near Lubeck, Germany in 1921. She moved to Berlin prior to World War II, where she was a long distance operator. She was training to be an Opera singer at that time as well, a talent she continued to develop throughout her life, albeit mostly for the entertainment of the neighbors who lived nearby... She moved to the USA after the war, living in New York City, San Francisco and San Diego where she married Capt. Darrell H. Zwemke - USN (deceased) and had two sons (Darrell and Matthew). Eventually landing in Clearfield, Utah at the Naval Supply Depot, and then Defense Depot Ogden. She worked for many years at Modling's and Auerbach's gift shops in Ogden where she made many friends. She retired from Hill Air Force Base where she started as a phone operator and finally became manager in one of the large aircraft hangers. She loved hiking in the outdoors, flower gardening, riding her bike and enjoying special times with her many grandkids, dogs and cats. Our mom was the ultimate shopper and the Nordstrom Rack plus many other stores always put a smile on her face. Orty is survived by her three sons: Matthew in Ogden, Darrell in Virginia and Jeff in Florida. She had seven grandchildren: Chris, Shawn, Taylor, Kennedy, Hanna, Canyon and Aspen. Special thanks to Tosha Martin who was her friend and care giver for the past year and a half and the staff at Mountain Ridge assisted living, who lost their best "unpaid employee"... As per our mothers wish, she asked that there be no services. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, our mother would have preferred that you make a donation to your favorite charity.