Obituary of Audrey F. Hasselbach

Audrey Hasselbach passed away March 31,2020, in Florham Park, NJ. She was 80 years old. Audrey was born in Kingston, Jamaica, as the second of five children. When her mother became terminally ill with cancer, Audrey moved in with her mother’s good friend Maud “Sister Maudie” Harrison, to lighten the household load. Audrey always dreamed of travelling and wrote letters to pen pals all over the world. At age 18, shortly after graduating from high school, Audrey made her dream of travelling a reality by moving to London. All by herself in a new country, she enrolled in interior design classes, but soon moved to Germany to marry her former pen pal, Friedhelm Hasselbach. Audrey spent 16 years in Germany and had a daughter. Her time in Germany was filled with travelling, gardening and raising her child. After her divorce, Audrey and her daughter moved back to Jamaica for a few years, and then to Miami, Fla. In Miami, Audrey again reinvented herself and became a respiratory therapist. Years later, she moved to New Jersey to be closer to her daughter and settled in Somerset. Her garden and house were her pride and joy; her garden tea party was even featured in the local newspaper. Audrey was known to give neighborhood children flowers from her garden to surprise their mothers. She was loved by her neighbors and her colleagues at St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick. She was also the beloved “Grandma Aggie” to her grandchildren and expert gardening consultant to her daughter and son-in-law. Audrey leaves behind her daughter, Valerie Hasselbach, son-in-law Richard Isleib, and grandchildren Benjamin and Anna. A memorial service will be held later in the year.