Ilsa Seegers

October 14th, 1924 - October 1st, 2003

See photos of Ilse's cemetary being cleaned up by Narkis Street members. more...

Ilse Seegers, 78, of Jerusalem, Israel and Hamburg, Germany, passed away Wednesday morning, October 1st, 2003, at Baptist House. She is survived by her two sons and their wives, Wilfried & Christa Seegers and Joern & Annette Seegers; her youngest sister, Lisa Presber; three grandchildren, David, Alina, and Kyle.

Ilse was born in Hamburg, Germany, on October 14th, 1924. She spent most of her life in Hamburg, where she worked as a physiotherapist, raising her two sons, Wilfried and Joern.

Ilse became a follower of Jesus in the 1960's and sought to serve the Lord with all of her life. She met Annette Nolting in the early 1970's and in 1975, Ilse and Annette became lifelong prayer partners. Both Ilse and Annette felt called to serve the Lord in Israel and in early October 1982, Ilse arrived first in the Land, right when the Narkis Street Baptist chapel had been burnt to the ground by arsonists. She spent her first hours in Israel helping Margaret Lindsey clean the damaged Baptist House.

Ilse and Annette cared for debilitated, elderly German-speaking Jews living in Israel over the next two decades.

Ilse was a true deaconess, serving the congregations and peoples at Narkis Street. She loved gardening and spent many years planting and pruning, beautifying the grounds. Ilse diligently prepared the church flower arrangement every week. At the entrance to the chapel on Shabbat mornings, she welcomed all with a smile and a bulletin. She was also known for her generosity to anyone in need. She loved her congregations.

Ilse was known as a woman who talked and walked with God. Her life was built on trusting the Lord in every moment for every need. She was a sister, a mother, and a grandmother to the many who knew her. She will be sorely missed, but we shall meet again.

“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” Ps. 84:10

Annette Nolting (left) and Ilse Seegers (right) have ministered at Baptist House over the past two decades. They have lived on the premises since 2000.

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young,
a place near your altar,
O Lord Almighty,
my King and
my God.”
Ps. 84:1-3

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