Sadness over death of Florida airport shooting victim Olga Woltering, originally from Ipswich
From the left are Hazel Roosa of New York, Rita Benneworth, and Olga Woltering of Georgia USA at a Priory Heath School reunion
More tributes have been paid to former Ipswich great-grandmother Olga Woltering who was one of five people killed in a shooting in the United States.
Olga Woltering, from Ipswich, was killed when a gunman opened fire in Florida - Credit: Archant
The 84-year-old, who grew up in Felix Road and went to Priory Heath Secondary Modern in Ipswich, died when a gunman opened fire at Fort Lauderdale airport in Florida on Friday.Mrs Woltering moved to Georgia with her US Air Force serviceman husband Ralph in the 1950s. Her younger sister Hazel Roosa also moved to the US after marrying an American.
The pair returned to Ipswich in 2003 for a school reunion organised by Brenda Phillips.
Mrs Phillips, of Ipswich, said she was stunned when she saw the news of Mrs Woltering’s death on television.
“She was a nice friendly lady. I was watching the news and they were talking about this lady from Ipswich and I thought ‘Oh my goodness’. I realised who it was. It was quite a shock.”
Mrs Woltering lived in Marietta in Cook County, Georgia, and was a well-known member of the Catholic Church of the Transfiguration.
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Brian Low, from Suffolk, left a tribute to her on the church’s Facebook page.
Mr Low said: “What a sad day, especially as Olga and Ralph were not due to fly into Fort Lauderdale until the following day.
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“Adverse weather conditions meant a change of plans so that they would not miss boarding their cruise ship for Ralph’s 90th birthday celebrations.
“Olga used to live in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, where I was based, and where I started my married life with my late wife 40 years ago.
“I still live in Suffolk. Fort Lauderdale is an airport used by some of my late wife’s US family, so that and Olga being born in Ipswich brings this event too close to home, even though I am 4,500 miles away.”
Iraq War veteran Esteban Santiago, 26, is accused of carrying out the shooting, which also left 45 people injured.
