Born Angelika Ingrid Knoll in Bunzlav Silesia (now Poland) to Martin Knoll and Anna Thormann Knoll. Her father was a mason who built each of his homes. Her mother, a homemaker, passed away while Angelika was a child in 1947. Martin later remarried Waltraud Hofmann who was a beautiful and consistent Stepmother and then Grandmother.
Like so many others, with the tumult of World War II, the family was forced to immigrate from east to west. The trip was a dangerous one; they narrowly avoided death by firebombing at the Dresden train station. They were spared because too many other trains filled with other fleeing immigrants blocked their entrance. Eventually they came to reside in Bad Nauhein, a quaint village near Frankfurt world renowned for its thermal salt springs felt to have curative features.
As a young woman, Angelika was employed as an administrative assistant for the U.S. Army. Here she met Captain Joseph E. Belgrade, M.D., United States Army Medical Corps. They were married May 29, 1957 and thereafter moved to Wilmington, DE where they spent essentially the remainder of their lives.
Despite the move to Delaware, she maintained her old-world skills and charms. She was an excellent cook and baker. Her gardening skills were always impressive knowing exactly when to plant and then harvest each variety of fruit, vegetable and flower. She and her husband proved quite productive at the garden on the “farm”. Her harvests would then be used to create the family meals.
Grossi was simple and perhaps at times stubborn. She never wanted or would permit her family to get her a cellphone. She never wanted or would permit her family to get her a clothes dryer. As long as it were for her physically possible, even in the dead cold of winter, clothes were hung out to dry because “they were brighter and smelled fresher.”
During her life, she was confronted with more than a “fair share” of catastrophic personal health and family events. She was a strong and resilient lady. Until now, she always was able to “rebound”. She was deeply loved and will be sorely missed.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Joseph E. Belgrade, M.D. She is survived by sister and cousin Anita Lipp and Gerlinde Dolek and their multiple children and grandchildren, still living in Bad Nauheim Germany, some still reside in the home built so long ago by Martin Knoll, Grossi’s father.
She is survived by her 3 children: Joseph M. Belgrade, M.D. (Karen Braunsdorf), Karen Walton (Richard “Cush”) and John F. Belgrade; and 6 grandchildren: Joey Belgrade (Jennifer Albanese), Erik S. Belgrade, Jennifer Walton, Laura Walton, Nicholas J. Belgrade and Jeffrey W. Belgrade.
All services will be private. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to your favorite charity.
