GUDRUN KOKOTT
Mediterranean Villas
She is surrounded by flowers: colorful all--and a garden of people "flowers" who have blossomed in the warmth of her kindness and generosity over the years. Gudrun Kokott ("Goodie" to her friends) lives up to her name.
An American success story, Goodie emigrated from Germany to the United States after having survived hardships that most of us find impossible to comprehend. Born in a small town west of Berlin, she and her mother were forced to flee Russian oppression at the end of World War II. Her father, imprisoned in a Russian POW camp, was incarcerated at the time her mother was ordered to pack a two-week’s supply of clothing and flee their home as the Russian front pressed closer. Fearing the worst, Goodie’s mother, with a wisdom born of fear and hardship, disguised her twelve-year-old daughter as an old woman, packed their clothing in a child’s wagon, and trekked across country to relatives in the west. Despite Russian promises, they were never to return.
Goodie continued her schooling in Braunschweig until five years later when she met and married her husband, Hans. It was love at first sight, a bond that soon gifted them with their daughter, Uta.
Eventually, the couple decided to come to America to join Hans’ parents who had previously immigrated to the United States. They settled in Chicago and, though she did not speak fluent English at the time, Goodie landed a job in the Hammond Organ factory. For the next seven years she worked the company’s day shift and went to school at night. Hans, whose German engineering degree was not recognized in the U.S., also went back to school. Fortunately, during this difficult time Goodie’s mother-law stepped up to care for the couple’s young daughter.
Sheer grit and determination finally paid off. Masters degree and diplomas in hand, the couple relocated to the DeKalb area where Hans was offered a position as chief engineer at the University of Northern Illinois. During this period a second child, Michael, was born giving Goodie a temporary respite from the workforce. Once her son was old enough, however, she found work in a DeKalb bank where, thanks to her employer who took a particular interest in her education, she skyrocketed from teller to Vice-President-in-Charge-of-Operations. Many of the skills she acquired during those years have since translated into the efficient “operations” of her daily life.
In 1998 Goodie and Hans moved from DeKalb, Illinois to Hudson, Florida where she settled into an active routine of socializing, shopping, crafting, crocheting, and gardening. Several years later she laid claim to horticultural prominence when she was awarded the first-place prize for gardening in a contest sponsored by the Millwood Village Homeowner’s Association.
After the death of her husband in 2008, Goodie relocated to the Mediterranean Villas where she continues to enhance her surroundings with her love of beauty and nature. A valuable addition to the community, she serves on the MVHA board, manages to charm her dog, Mitzi, and the neighborhood pets, and raises the bar on kindness and generosity.
Beacon Woods is proud to claim her as their own!
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