Irma Amelia Sendelbach

Irma Amelia Sendelbach (neé Metzler), age 99, had a laugh that shook the foundations of the Earth. She moved beyond the earthly plane on June 27th, 2026, in Dallas, Texas.

Irma had a long life that took her many places. She was born on October 24th, 1926, in Wuerzburg, Germany to Johann and Rosa Metzler. She married Benedikt (Benno) Sendelbach in 1953 after meeting at a garden party.

Irma survived WWII as a young teen and was a member of an underground Catholic youth organization that opposed Nazism and Hitler. She survived the March 16, 1945, fire-bombing of Wuerzburg in which 82% of the city was destroyed and fled the city on foot with her sister for 30 miles while taking cover as bombers flew overhead. Though she did not know her husband yet, he survived that night as well, just weeks after burning his draft papers, carrying elderly neighbors to the riverbanks so that they could hide and breathe.

In 1958, she and her husband left their town in Germany and traveled across the world to New York City in search of work and a new world — in short, for the promise of the American dream. They first settled on Staten Island in a rooming house and learned English by watching television. As her devoted husband Benno worked his way up, starting as a cabinet maker, in the architectural and woodworking world, they moved to Queens, and then New Jersey, and welcomed their three children along the way: Dr. Dorothy Sendelbach, Steven Sendelbach, and Joan Francis (nee Sendelbach.)

In 1981, Irma and Benno moved to Houston, Texas, after Benno was offered a position at Brochstein’s Inc. This move started a family migration, as the rest of the family soon settled in Dallas and Houston. Irma and Benno lived in Houston until Benno’s passing in 1998 and then Irma joined most of her family in Dallas. It was at that time that Dorothy and Joan began to host weekly Sunday dinners for Irma and the rest of the family, a special family tradition first created for Irma that the family continues to this day.

Irma is preceded in death by her dear husband, Benno, who passed away 28 years ago this month, her sister, Hedwig Metzler, and her parents.

Irma is survived by a massive clan of family and friends who loved her very dearly and will miss her very much: her three children, and their spouses, Dr. Craig Rubin, Patty Sendelbach, and George Francis. She leaves behind her seven grandchildren — Adam Rubin, Michael Rubin, Kenneth Francis, Dr. Bryan Sendelbach, Christine Portillo (nee Sendelbach), Rebecca Ward (nee Rubin), and Elizabeth Francis, and their partners in life, Julie Rubin, Melissa Coquelin, Kelsey Francis, Melanie Neal, Jonathan Portillo, Will Ward, and Liam Dempsey. She is survived by six great-grandchildren to boot — Emma, Noah, Claire, Abigail, Jesse, and Benjamin, not to mention beloved extended family in Wuerzburg, New York City, and New Jersey.

Over her 99 years of life, Irma saw her family grow from her childhood in Wuerzburg, to its humble roots in New York as a new family of two, to the dozens of people who called her “Mom” or “Grandma” or “Oma” later in life. She saw, survived, and built her family through a century’s worth of history.

But Irma’s family was one of the greatest accomplishments of her life. Whenever a son or granddaughter came to visit her at her retirement community, she’d proudly introduce them to anyone who would pass her by. She loved her evening Manhattan. (Please pour one for yourself if you are so inclined.) She loved to laugh. She loved the opera. She loved her husband, whom she finally reunited with on the other side. And she loved her family. We love her back.