On Saturday, September 12, 2020, the Törring family gathered in a private funeral to lay to rest Countess Maria Immaculata. Given the danger posed by COVID-19, as well as rising contagion rates across Europe, the family decided this was the most responsible and safest manner to bid farewell to the late Countess.
Funeral Oration by the officiating priest:
"This church was very familiar to your mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. On Sundays she usually sat on the left side of the church in the back third, formerly the women's side. During the service she always had a look at the family crest, the jumping dog up in the choir arch. Perhaps it also created an additional bond with this church that many generations of the Törring family prayed here. Today, she is one last time in the little church of Dünzelbach and will find a final resting place very close to this prayer room, her house, and the place where her family lives.
Maria Immaculata was born almost 100 years ago, on July 27, 1921 in eastern Hungary, the region that is today mainly known for its To-kaj wine here in the west. The family of Baron Waldbott von Bassenheim originally came from the Rhineland and made it to Hungary through marriage in the 19th century. Maria Immaculata grew up bilingual on her parents' estate, where she was taught by private tutors for the first few years of school. Then she went to a Sacré Coeur school near Pressburg. After finishing school, she could expect a carefree life on her parents' estate. But as her father writes in his memoirs, his daughter had no desire to just go about social life and wanted to do something more serious. The beginning of the war for Hungary in 1941 provided the opportunity to train as a nurse. She specialized in operations in the surgical department and took part in difficult operations every day for two years. I have even heard from experienced doctors that they can hardly stand this work on the open human body. It shows that the deceased could take a lot. In 1943 she was transferred to the rock hospital in Budapest, where the best medical staff in Hungary were brought together to care for the citizens of the capital, who were seriously wounded after bombing, in vaulted cellars. It was a horrific patchwork, in which the nurse treated countless seriously injured people day and night. At the last minute, before Budapest was occupied by the Russians, they managed to escape to the West, to which the family also fled in stages.
After her husband's death in 1977, a new stage in life began. She wanted to make it easier for the children to have a life of their own, and perhaps to lead a new one herself. She moved into a large house in Lower Bavaria, which she furnished with a lot of love. Furnishing and designing houses was a passion of hers. She put a lot of effort into the large garden and the rose plantations in particular, and the visitors were impressed by the splendour of the flowers when family and friends were invited, especially when the roses were in bloom. In general, she loved nature and was happy when deer and pheasants visited her property and let her feed them. But she was also a dashing hunter, a passion she might have inherited from her father.
Countess Antonia zu Törring-Jettenbach |
At the age of 90 she moved back to Dünzelbach, close to the family. It was quite a sacrifice for her, as she had to leave her beloved rose garden behind. In any case, the small front garden of the forester's house next to the church was always well cared for. With age, her social circles became increasingly smaller. The visits of the children and grandchildren, the Sunday meetings, and meals together were a great pleasure for them. Thanks also to the family for taking the time to visit us. Old people often feel left alone and are grateful for the attention of their loved ones. How important the family was to the deceased could also be seen in her room, where children and grandchildren were present in her pictures. The last few months have been difficult, also for the family. Someone with such a strong will to live does not simply give up before death. I was allowed to bring her the sacraments of death one day before she died. She suffered badly, but was quite there and composed. She knew what was in store for her, and she was prepared for it.
May Maria Immaculata rest in peace...."
Grave of Count Hans Heribert and Countess Maria Immaculata zu Törring-Jettenbach. |
NOTE: Reproduction of photos without prior permission is strictly forbidden!
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