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Obituary: Elsbeth Mayritsch

Elsbeth Mayritsch
Provided Photo
Elsbeth

Mayritsch

August 2, 1939 – May 22, 2021

Elsbeth Mayritsch passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 22, at the age of 81. She is fondly remembered by her close family and friends throughout the Aspen area, Switzerland and beyond.

A resident of Aspen since 1964, Elsbeth was born in Rueti, Switzerland, where she was raised on a small dairy farm with 6 brothers and one sister. After completing school and excelling in foreign languages, she took a job as a post office clerk, where she began dreaming about the foreign lands marked on the many letters she handled.


With an adventurous spirit, she set her sights on San Francisco, but a frequent customer sending letters to a sweetheart in Aspen persuaded her to try Aspen first. Elsbeth convinced her younger sister Margrit to join her, and the two sisters embarked on the long journey by ship and Greyhound bus. Once in Aspen, she was quickly welcomed by the fun-loving group of young, enterprising Europeans, and Elsbeth’s visit turned into a lifetime adventure.

In Aspen, Elsbeth first worked as an au pair for long-time Aspenite Anne Farish and then met her husband Gerhard, an Austrian chef who worked at the Red Onion and established the Wienerstube Restaurant in 1965 with his partner Helmut Schloffer. They married in 1967, started a family, and in 1971 built a house where they lived together in Aspen for 50 years.

Elsbeth loved the outdoors and enjoyed mountain cookouts, hiking and skiing with friends, camping, and soaking in the sun at Lake Powell. She also enjoyed volunteering in the community as a 4-H crafts instructor and for the Aspen Thrift Shop. She remained closely connected to her native Switzerland and Swiss culture and will be most remembered for her love of music, dancing and yodeling.

Elsbeth is survived by her husband of 54 years, Gerhard Mayritsch, her children Barbara Farley (Conor) and Evelyne McCleland (Mark); her grandchildren Aidan and Oliver Farley and Natalie McCleland; her brothers Anton, Paul, and Albert Scherrer; her sister Margrit Simmen; and many nephews and nieces.

A funeral mass and memorial service for Elsbeth will be held on Monday, June 7th at 11am at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 533 E Main Street, Aspen CO. Donations can be made on her behalf to the Thrift Shop of Aspen, PO Box 126, Aspen CO 81612.