In Memoriam: Ute Hanna Ochs, MD (Dec. 13, 1937 - Nov. 16, 2021

Born in Jena, East Germany to Herbert and Annamarie Brintzinger, Ute experienced the hardships of WWII. In 1945, the American Army evacuated Ute and her entire family to West Germany, where she graduated from high school/Gymnasium in 1956. On the first day of medical school at the University of Tübingen, she met her future husband Hans, also a first-year medical student. Over the next five years, Ute and Hans studied at medical schools in Tübingen, Vienna, and Freiburg and graduated together in 1961. After a year of internship in Germany, in 1963 they married and moved to Toledo, Ohio for a yearlong rotating internship. During that time their daughter Ulrike was born. The next year was spent in Honolulu, where Hans started his residency in pediatrics and Ute stayed home raising Ulrike and their newborn son Michael. In 1965, the family returned to Germany where tragically, Michael died at age two of a congenital heart defect. In 1967, their son Oliver was born and shortly thereafter, the family moved to Seattle. Ute chose to be a "stay at home Mom" for her young family for the next five years, putting her children above all else. She played games, read stories and cooked fresh, healthy delicious meals served on a white tablecloth... every single night. When Oliver was year years old, Ute started her pediatric residency at Children's Hospital in Seattle, where she also completed her genetics fellowship. After completion of her training, Ute joined Group Health, where she was a pediatrician and the solo geneticist until her retirement in 2002. During that time, she was chief of pediatrics, on the executive committee and continued to cook homemade meals served on a white tablecloth... every single night.

Shortly after retirement, Ute was diagnosed with Parkinson's, but with her unwavering optimistic attitude, she continued to live a very full and active life. She was a wonderful Oma to her grandchildren, spending most afternoons with them, playing games, reading and instilling in them curiosity, kindness and the love of learning. When her son Oliver died very unexpectedly in 2015, Ute was devastated and never fully recovered from this loss.

Grieving for Ute are her husband Hans; her daughter Ulrike; grandchildren Dane, Demi, Ellie, and Cooper; her sister Antje; extended family in the US and Germany; and many friends and colleagues from all over the world.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery

A celebration of Ute's life will be held this summer on Crane Island, the place in the San Juan Islands she loved so much.

Seattle Times, Apr. 17, 2022