Christa Katharina Priller Devanney passed away peacefully on September 19, 2023, surrounded by her family after a courageous year-long battle with ovarian cancer. She led a joyful life of over 80 years. She was the center of our family, our guiding light. The world will be far dimmer with her gone. Christa loved people, and nature and all creatures large and small. She will be sorely missed.
Christa was born on December 14, 1942 at Tutzing am Starnberger See (Lake Starnberg) in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. She was preceded in death by her mother Maria Priller, her grandmother and grandfather Katharina and Friedrich Pruenstner, and her brothers Franz and Kurt. She is survived by her husband Tom, daughter Katharina (Trina), Medina, OH, son Thomas, Huntsville, her beloved granddaughter Brigid Maria Weber, her brother Oskar, her sisters Liesl Kohlschmied and Luise Maschl and many nephews and nieces and their families.
Christa was raised in post war Germany. Hers was a soul deeply entwined with nature; her spirit sculpted by the Alpine landscapes she forever loved. She was born with curiosity to explore the world and its peoples, and cultures and natural wonders. She loved her United States adopted land, but she was a genuine “Oberbayerin” and needed to return when she could to her beloved Alps. She spent her early years in Osterwarngau where she skied to school and still has life-long friends. She later went to school in Eichenried, Erding and Ebenhausen. She finished school in Rottach-Egern on the beautiful Tegernsee, where she was confirmed in her Catholic faith and developed her life-long passion for cooking. She lived in Garmisch and London, England and then returned to Bavaria where she met Tom Devanney, then a Captain in the American Army stationed in Germany, and taught him to ski. Their globe-spanning love story began on June 22, 1968, when Christa and Tom married at the beautiful Wies Church not far from King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein.
Christa came to the U.S. for the first time in October 1968. Their journey together in the Army saw them move 12 times in 26 years, including stints in Murnau, Germany; Cincinnati, OH; Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD (twice); Redstone Arsenal, AL (three times); West Point, NY; Ft Leavenworth, KS; South Korea; Orange County, CA; and Northern Virginia. She was a magnificent Army wife, skillfully managing those 12 household moves and maintaining a loving home while her husband served overseas and was away on extended duty. She raised two wonderful children. Daughter Trina was born in Cincinnati during Tom’s deployment in Vietnam. Son Thomas was born at the Redstone Arsenal Army hospital during their first tour at Redstone. Christa celebrated becoming a U.S. citizen in 1978 just prior to their deployment to Korea. Christa’s German cooking was legendary, but every time the family moved, she added another cuisine to her repertoire. Thanksgiving turkey with all the fixings, Mexican, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Irish, and on and on. Her baking bread aroma always was a welcome home.
Christa believed in community. Christa was a longtime volunteer leader for the Girl Scouts, even leading camping trips in Korea, for the American Red Cross, for military thrift shops and various other military community support organizations. She was president of the Redstone Arsenal Military Council of Catholic Women. She taught Catholic religious education to high school age students. She was recognized as Redstone Arsenal Volunteer of the Year in 1994 for her contributions to the community.
Christa and Tom eventually settled down and made their home in Huntsville, Alabama, where many of their lifelong friends also settled. They continued their travels including annual trips back to Bavaria to spend time with the mountains, visit family, and go Christmas shopping in Munich. During their many trips to Alaska, they drove every Alaskan numbered highway including the pipeline route from the Port of Valdez on Prince William Sound to the ice-covered oil fields on Prudhoe Bay 800 miles to the north, celebrating the ever-changing tapestry of wildlife along the way. They enjoyed a family trip to Tom’s ancestral home in County Galway, Ireland, to meet the cousins. They toured Rome and the Vatican and were privileged to attend a public audience with Pope Benedict. More recently they enjoyed their many trips to Ohio for beloved granddaughter Brigid’s dance competitions, orchestra concerts, and musical theater performances, and beach time with Trina and Brigid at Fort Walton Beach, FL. When home in Alabama, she enjoyed her long-time friends at bridge club, Gourmet club, and her German ladies group, but most of all, she enjoyed their remote cabin on a bluff overlooking Lake Guntersville with solitude and wildlife and lots of outdoor time. A herd of deer regularly grazes outside the sunroom. Bald eagles, hawks, owls, wild turkeys, raccoons, foxes, bobcats, and song birds are frequent visitors. Christa was a confirmed bird watcher. She knew all the north Alabama birds and their migration patterns, joyfully celebrating each of their annual returns.
Christa and Tom were long time parishioners at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Community, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama until its disestablishment when they joined Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Huntsville, Alabama.
Visitation will be at 10:00 am on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at Good Shepherd followed by Mass at 11:00. Livestream goodshephsv.org. Burial will at Maple Hill Cemetery with lunch back at Good Shepherd at about 1:00 pm.
No flowers please. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the Lee Coggins Patient Care Fund, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, or The Ark, Inc. no-kill shelter in Huntsville.
