Elizabeth Hedwig Anderau

Elizabeth Hedwig Anderau at age 97, while residing at Atria Rye Brook, NY passed away peacefully January 7, 2019 in Greenwich Hospital, Greenwich, Ct.   She was born Dec. 1, 1921 in Winterthur, Switzerland to Gabriella (people called her Paula) and  Heinrich Oberhansli.  Elizabeth was their only child.  She had two adopted sisters, Trudy and Annie.  There she went to Primary and Secondary school and eventually graduated from Ecole de Superieure de Commerce, a University style business school.  As part of her studies and to learn English she spent several months in England.  On Aug 29, 1953 she married Emil G. Anderau in her hometown and in October immigrated to the USA coming over on the Queen Elizabeth.  They went through Ellis Island spending several days there, going through the standard immigration process which included a physical.  They moved into an apartment in Yonkers, NY where Emil had a job in Tuckahoe with a packaging firm, while at the same time studying for his Masters in Business at Columbia University.  With her husband traveling for work and going to school, Elizabeth often had to make her own way in her new surroundings.  McCarthyism was the political climate of the early fifties.  They both felt the need to become part of the Great American Melting Pot.  Elizabeth quickly made friends with her neighbors.  On June 5, 1954 their first son Guido was born and 1956 Mark.  Soon after Mark was born they moved to 10 Regent Place, Yonkers, NY.  In 1957 their only daughter Elizabeth was born and in 1959 their last Peter.  The next 10 years were spent raising 4 children.  During this time she did volunteer work as a French teacher for 5th and 6th graders and was involved in school legislation.

In the Fall of 1966 the family moved to Hartsdale to the Edgemont School District.  At the same time Mr. Anderau took on a new job as Sales Distributor for Soudronic AG, a Swiss Resistance Weld Equipment Supplier.  Starting the distributorship from their home, Elizabeth used her previous schooling to maintain the books.  The business evolved into a supplier of resistance weld equipment for the canning industry.   Eventually they moved to an office in Scarsdale, NY.  There Elizabeth maintained the books until 1982 at which time the company put up a new building on 465 North State Rd. in Briarcliff Manor.  Just prior to the new building Elizabeth and Emil moved to Millwood, NY.

Soudronic was a family owned business.  In the mid eighties the owner had a crippling stroke that was followed by management change.  In 1987 company politics ended Emil Anderau’s career at Soudronic AG.  The previous year at a packaging trade show in Germany with her husband, Elizabeth noticed another Swiss Company, Germann + Frei AG that also made equipment for the canning industry.  It happened to be located in St. Gallen where Mr. Anderau grew up.  As it turned out this company was interested in breaking into the US market.  This contact grew into a distributorship.  Once again working out of their home Emil did the sales and Elizabeth did the books.  They developed that into a successful business which continues under son Peter and daughter Elizabeth.  Elizabeth and Emil Anderau came to the United States, prided themselves on working hard and lived the American Dream.

Elizabeth was predeceased by her husband Emil who died Feb 15, 2011, her son Guido who died Feb 1992 and both her adopted sisters Trudy and Annie.  She is survived by her daughter Elizabeth Suhonen, two sons  Peter and Mark, two beautiful granddaughters Christine & Madelyn and three wonderful grandsons Markus, Tom, and Steven.

Service to be held at St. Theresa and our Lady of the Wayside, 1394 Pleasantville Rd., Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510 Friday Jan. 11, at 10 AM

http://sainttheresa.org/ourparish.html

followed by burial:  Gates Of Heaven, 10 W. Stevens Ave., Hawthorne, NY

In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made to:

LOF Adaptive Skiers (Leap of Faith) www.lofadaptiveskiers.org

St Jude Children’s Research Hospitalwww.stjude.org 

WATERBURY & KELLY FUNERAL HOME

1300 Pleasantville Road

Briarcliff Manor, New York 10510

914-941-0838

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