Renate Praksta: Art of living was hers

WARTIME Berlin in the '40s was no place for children.

For a girl like Renate Lemke, it was a city of ruins, of living in cellars, of bombs and artillery, cold and hunger.

Life meant simply staying alive, and she and her family survived.

Years later in Munich, where her family moved after the war, Renate met an American soldier, John Praksta, at a pre-Lenten fasching ball. She liked his funny party hat.

The two hit it off and began seeing each other, to the strong disapproval of her friends, who found nothing to like in a despised "Ami."

After a relationship that continued for a few years and covered a number of countries, they married in the mid-'50s after John induced her to come to America to see if she liked it. She did, and the marriage lasted 54 years.

Renate, an artist and art patron who became involved in the many cultural activities offered by her adopted community, died Tuesday after a 10-year battle against breast cancer. She was 76 and lived in Oreland.

Her husband went on to become a legendary editor for the Daily News, famous for his snappy headlines and calm demeanor amid the turmoil of deadline.

After John and Renate met in the heady days after World War II, there were bicycle trips through the Alps, Paris in the spring, Venice in the summer, and the coronation of the queen in London.

The London experience extended for almost two years and included a period for Renate as an au pair for a baronet's family.

She and John, who was in London as a student (London School of Economics), began talking of the future. Come to America, he suggested, and if she liked it, they would marry.

The rest, as they say, is history.

After their marriage, the Prakstas settled in Oreland, and Renate became part of the larger community.

She joined the Art Goes to School teaching program in Philadelphia and volunteered at the Art Museum. She became a member of the Athenaeum and joined the International Women's Club of Philadelphia. For many years she worked at art galleries and Robertson's Flowers in Chestnut Hill.

She did pottery at the Cheltenham Art Center and watercolor at the Norristown Regional Art League. Her home housed an exotic glass and orchid collection and her garden became a showplace.

The two traveled widely, from Boise, Idaho, to Budapest and many places in between. There were summer days down the Shore, fall weeks in Bermuda, and winter months in Florida.

John retired in 1992 as an assistant managing editor of the Daily News after 37 years at the paper.

Besides her husband, Renate is survived by two daughters, Andrea Hardy and Michele Rich, a granddaughter Olivia Hardy, and a sister, Marianne Stoeckel.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Abington Memorial Hospital Foundation and sent to AMH Office of Philanthropy, Rosenfeld Cancer Center, 1200 Old York Road, Abington PA 19001. A celebration of life commemoration is being planned.