Ilse Selbach

1936—2018

Ilse Gertrude Selbach, or ‘Illa’ passed away peacefully on June 7, 2018. A lengthy illness cut short the life of a loving and devoted mother and wife. Illa loved her family and friends and with seemingly endless energy always made time for those she held dear. Born in Freiburg, Germany on August 14, 1936, she survived the devastation of war on her family and the aftermath of that terrible time.

As a young woman she looked West to rebuild her future, immigrating to the US via San Francisco and then onto southern California. There she met and married her soulmate ‘Manny’, another German transplant and they had a son, Dirk in 1964, truly living the American Dream. Introduced to sun, camping and water sports she indulged in all, perplexing many as the active water-skier who somehow never got her hair wet.

Making their way back to Northern California, in 1981 Illa and Manny founded Selbach European Service in Napa and operated it successfully for 2 decades before retiring and passing the business onto Dirk. She thrived on building the business from the ground up and enjoyed the social aspect of returning clients and friends.

Besides many trips back to Europe, tropical destinations were her favorites; Central America, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Polynesia etc. Just point and Illa was game.

Fun loving, dedicated, maybe a little stubborn (did I mention she was German?!) always gracious and loving to those lucky enough to know her.

Survived by her loving husband ‘Manny’ of 57 years, her son Dirk and her devoted daughter-in-law June Kelley Selbach as well as relatives in Germany.

The family would like to express our sincere gratitude to the great care given to Ilse by the staff at Nazareth Rose Garden of Napa as well as Collabria Care.

A memorable life, well lived. Missed dearly and loved always. Rest in Peace.

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