Sentimental Sunday: Meeting a Cousin in Germany

Karl-Heinz Pape, 11 April 1982 ---- Paul Robert "Bob" Pape, 2 January 1981

In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I had met a grandson and four great-grandchildren of Joseph Pape, the younger brother of my great-grandfather John Pape, and the only one of the four sons of Jacob Pape and Elisabeth Gierse to stay in Germany.

I never would have met them, though, if it hadn't been for my Uncle Bob, my dad's older brother, Paul Robert Pape Jr. (1926-2008).

Recently I wrote one of Joseph's great-grandchildren, Ulrike Pape, in Germany, and asked her about Joseph, and how she met Uncle Bob.  Here's what she wrote:

You are right that my great-grandfather, Joseph Pape, was the brother of John Pape, your great-grandfather....

As to how Uncle Bob found us: One day he had been on a business trip to Lippstadt (very close to Paderborn and Büren) for Continental Can (White Cap Division) and had asked the secretary of that company to call us in Büren. She did and as I was at home that day I had the chance to accompany my dad [Karl-Heinz Pape, 1925-1992] to a short meeting at Lippstadt/Paderborn airport. My dad did not speak any English, so I had to translate. It was striking how similar Uncle Bob and my dad looked, everybody could see the relationship - and Uncle Bob jumped out of the car and shouted, "I can see it is him, he looks like me." That day there had not been much time, but a first contact was made. Some time later Uncle Bob came to a fair in Duesseldorf and we met there. That day he wanted to see my family in Büren and I took him there in my car. So that is how we got to meet each other. We stayed in contact from then on. 

I don't have an exact date for this meeting, but I'm guessing it was around 1976.  Uncle Bob gave me Ulrike's address, and we began corresponding.  She visited me in Texas in September 1977, and I visited her in Germany in April 1982.

© Amanda Pape - 2013 - click here to e-mail me.