Marianne Charlotte Menonna, a former cook at Herb’s Market in Montauk, died on Feb. 10 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care on Quiogue. She was 98.
Known to friends as Omi, which means "Granny" in German, she was born on Jan. 22, 1922, in Bartenstein, East Prussia, a former German province in what is now Poland, to Karl and Maria Kluike, and lived there until January 1945, when, toward the end of World War II, as the Russian Army was advancing on the chaotic territory, she and her family were evacuated by boat, across the Baltic Sea, to Germany.
For several years, she, her husband, and their daughter, Christine, lived in a displaced persons camp in Fulda, West Germany. In 1952, they emigrated to the United States and settled in the Bronx. She worked as a seamstress there and in Manhattan for 20 years.
In 1972, Mrs. Menonna moved to Montauk to work at Herb’s Market, which was owned by her daughter and son-in-law, Herb Herbert. She was put in charge of making soups and salads, and became known as the "kitchen technician."
After 25 years, she retired and began spending winters in West Palm Beach. She returned to Montauk to live with Christine Herbert, her only child, in 2016. Her daughter survives, as do two granddaughters and four great-grandchildren. A brother, Hans, and sister, Karla, died before her.
In accordance with her wishes, there were no services. The family has suggested memorial donations to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.
