Gisela W. Leibiger

Gisela Wilhelmine (Barth) Leibiger, 94, of Jupiter, FL, died peacefully in her home on October 14, 2023. Gisela was born on April 7, 1929, to Josef Barth and Sofie (Schey) Barth in Pforzheim, Germany. As her father advanced in his career managing farms for the Grand Duke of Baden and later the Fürst von Isenburg, Gisela lived in Neulingen, Baden, and later Birstein and Langenselbold, Hessen, Germany. She also lived with family friends in Salzburg, Austria, and with her aunt and uncle Frieda and Wilhelm and cousin Elisabeth Junghanns in Hammelburg, Germany, when no local Catholic girls schools were available for her to attend. She graduated from the Realgymnasium für Mädchen in Hanau, Germany, in 1948 and completed her training as a seamstress and fashion designer at the Private Mode- und Zuschneide-Schule in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1950. In 1953 Gisela traveled to the United States to visit her aunt and uncle Elisabeth and Rudolf Burkardt in Verona, NJ, for two years. During her stay, she worked as a seamstress for the Haynes Department Store in Montclair, NJ, specializing in dress alterations for bridal fashion shows. In 1955 Gisela was introduced to Gustave Adolphe Leibiger, when he was on leave from the U.S. Army. They married in Langenselbold, Germany, on October 15, 1955 (civil wedding), and at Kloster Altstadt, Hammelburg, Germany, on October 17, 1955 (church wedding). To their union of 43 years were born Carol, Marion, Steven, and Stuart. Gisela was strongly affected by having grown up in Germany during the Third Reich. After World War II, she used her knowledge of English as an interpreter for the Headquarters of the U.S. Army’s Civilian Labor Office at Hanau, Germany, from 1945-1946. In addition to her broad life experiences, she was a wonderful storyteller, and she passed down the stories of her life and family to her descendants, giving a human touch to dark times. She loved to talk about her German heritage and passed on an appreciation for German culture, especially German food. Gisela loved her large German family. She cherished her relationships with her parents and her numerous cousins, especially Elisabeth Staab and Wilhelmine Käfer, whom she enjoyed visiting on her many trips to Europe. Her children are grateful for the relationships she enabled with their German relatives. Between trips to Germany, she stayed in contact with her family through a steady stream of letters and frequent telephone calls. Due to this constant contact, she never lost her fluency in German. Gisela created clean, well-organized homes for her family in West Orange, NJ, and Niantic, CT. After Gustave’s death in 1998, she joined Marion’s family in Jupiter, FL. Her home there was a welcoming place for her children and grandchildren and their families. A beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and aunt, Gisela is preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brothers Edgar and Roland Barth, and her sisters-in-law Marie Adams and Lilli Barth. She is survived by her brother Karl-Heinz Barth, her children Carol (István Gombocz) Leibiger, Marion (Douglas) Glenn, Steven (Martina) Leibiger, and Stuart (Jennifer) Leibiger, grandchildren Ashley (Charles) Morehead, Daniel Glenn, Katarina Gombocz, Benedict Gombocz, Elizabeth Leibiger, Thomas (Payal) Leibiger, Ethan Leibiger, and Laura Leibiger, her great-grandchildren Daphne, Magnolia, and Charles Morehead, her sister-in-law Frauke Barth, her nephews Christoph Barth, Jens Barth, Rodney Adams, and Roy Adams, and her nieces Sabine Kliehm, Christine Klier, and Anke Barth. The family is sincerely grateful for the many cards, visits, flowers, phone calls, and prayers from friends and relatives honoring Gisela’s memory. Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 18, at 3 PM in the Taylor Modeen Funeral Home in Jupiter, FL. Visitation will be held from 2-5 PM on December 18. Gisela’s ashes will join her husband’s remains in East Lyme Cemetery, East Lyme, CT, at a later date. In lieu of flowers and gifts, donations in Gisela’s memory may be made to Trustbridge Hospice of Palm Beach County.

Gisela W. Leibiger

April 7, 1929 - October 14, 2023