Obituary of Hannelore DeSantis

Hannelore DeSantis passed away the evening of September 7,2018 at the INOVA Loudoun Hospital.  She was born on September 2, 1939 in Ludwigshafen, Germany to the late Karl and Maria Kuntz. 

Lorie was a beautiful and vibrant woman who was generous and caring toward everyone.  She had a spunky and vivacious voice that couldn’t be mistaken for anyone else. She opened her heart and home to anyone who needed a place to stay, something to eat or someone to talk to.  She loved animals and took in many stray cats and dogs.

She married Ronald DeSantis, who was in the U.S. Army, on December 5, 1958 in Ludwigshafen, West Germany.  She came to the United States in 1960 and lived in Cleveland, Ohio while her husband was deployed to South Korea.  During her husband’s deployment to South Vietnam, she live in Minnesota, where in addition to raising her two sons, Michael and Peter, she also worked as a model at Dayton’s department store.  She also lived in Panama and Iran. Lorie moved to Sterling, Virginia in 1977, where she resided until her death.  She worked for Century 21 as a realtor in Sterling.  She also volunteered as a costume designer and seamstress for the Blue Ridge Alliance for the Performing Arts.

Lorie was adventurous and loved to travel.  Her many excursions included Afghanistan, Key West, Florida; Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui; the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Salem,Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington and frequent trips to Germany to visit her family.  Her favorite trip was the two-week cruise she took to Alaska in 2003.    The glaciers, the wildlife and the scenery were spectacular.   She especially loved the bus trip through Denali National Park.  Lorie was also an avid downhill skier.

Lorie is survived by her son Michael DeSantis (Bluemont, VA), Peter DeSantis (Sterling, Virginia), her grandson Andrew DeSantis (Boyce, Virginia) her brother Peter Kuntz (Niedernwöhren, Germany) and her boyfriend Chris Burritt (Sterling, Virginia).  Her husband, Ronald DeSantis preceded her in death in January 2001.

“Der Mensch ist erst wirklich tot, wenn niemand mehr an ihn denkt.”  (Bertolt Brecht)