Brigitte Hancock

Brigitte Hancock, 77, of Gilby, North Dakota, passed away Friday, January 27, 2017, at Altru Hospital, Grand Forks, North Dakota, surrounded by her family.

Brigitte Renate Hart was born February 26, 1939 in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, the eldest daughter of Pastor Günter and Erika (Berg) Hart. Upon reaching adulthood, she became employed as a shipping clerk at the port of Bremerhaven. It was there that, in 1958, she would meet her future husband, John Hancock, who was stationed there while in the United States Army. In January, 1960, she came to America aboard the passenger ship SS America, and they were married in Brooklyn, New York on January 20, 1960. They were married for 57 years.

Following their marriage, they returned to the family farm west of Gilby. During her more than five and a half decades there, this city girl became a farm wife, working side by side with John baling hay, driving trucks, plucking chickens, delivering lambs, bottle-feeding baby livestock, shuttling people from field to field, mowing lawn endlessly, and cooking up a storm for many family and friends.


She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church, Inkster, was active in Ladies Aid, loved animals, especially dogs, enjoyed crossword puzzles and especially later in life, knitting profusely and donating her work. She enjoyed speaking German regularly with her circle of German women friends.

She is survived by her husband of 57 years, John (Jack), Gilby; daughter Vanessa, Park River; son John, Jr., Gilby; and dog Emma; sisters Karin Thulesius, Bremen, Germany, and Christiane Hart, Peine, Germany; sister -in-law and brother-in-law Bonnie and Charlie Betts, Chandler, Arizona; and nieces and nephews: Shelley (Steven) Johnson, Todd Machovsky, Jeff Machovsky, Nicole (Hans) Hansen, Karin Thulesius, and Matthias Thulesius; and several cousins in Germany.

She was preceded in death by her mother in 1986, her father in 1999, nephew Christopher Hart in 2011, and two infant sisters.

FUNERAL SERVICES: 2 P.M. Friday, February 3, 2017 at Faith Lutheran Church in Inkster, ND.

VISITATION: Thursday, February 2 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. with a 4 p.m. prayer service held in the Bakke Funeral Home of Larimore, ND.

INTERMENT: Prairie Home Cemetery, Gilby