Hanna "Hanni" Guttmann

Aus dem Leben bis du uns genommen, Aber nicht aus unseren Herzen.

You were taken out of our lives, but not out of our hearts.

Hanna “Hanni” Guttmann, 92, of Hebron passed away on Monday, January 15, 2024 at CHI St. Alexius Hospital in Dickinson. A private graveside service will be held at a later date.

Hanni was born in Cologne, Germany on November 15, 1931 to Wilhelm and Helene (Berg) Sassen. She survived World War II and its many hardships on German civilians, including the loss of her younger brother. After the war, she used her natural ability with numbers and uncanny knack for seeing patterns to become a bookkeeper.

Hanni married Walter Guttmann on August 9, 1952. Life was difficult in postwar Germany, so the two left their homeland and immigrated to Canada. Shortly after, the couple welcomed their daughter, Karin.

After living and working in a German neighborhood in Winnipeg for two years, Hanni and Walter immigrated to Denver. It was then that they taught themselves English by watching TV and reading. 

Despite moving away from Germany, the couple raised Karin with German values and the whole family went back to visit many times. They taught Karin German as her first language, later teaching her English.

Hanni was a devoted wife to Walter for 48 years, until he passed away in 2000. After Walter’s passing, she formed a relationship with a new life partner, Martin Harnisch and moved to Hebron to start a new life. Martin passed away in 2016. She also made many friends in the community and became very close with Martin’s daughter, Heidi.

Hanni always enjoyed needlework, making many beautiful cross-stitch pictures and knitting lovely sweaters. She would also crochet scarves for charity. When Karin was a little girl, Hanni crocheted the most exquisite dresses for her Barbie doll. Hanni was always a perfectionist with a commitment to excellence.

Hanni is survived by her daughter, Karin Writer of Greenwood Village, CO; grandchildren, Russell (Heather) Kieselbach of Hudson, OH and Lindsay (Kevin) Ritter of Denver, CO; great-grandchildren, Ace and Mae Kieselbach and Hayden and Hank Ritter; and Heidi and Darrel Schulte and family.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Helene and Wilhelm Sassen; siblings, Willi and Else Sassen; husband, Walter Guttmann; and her subsequent life partner, Martin Harnisch.