Monika Brigitte (Pickel) Sponseller

Monika Brigitte Sponseller, 80, passed from this life on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at Tennova Hospital and Hospice Care in Clarksville, TN. She was born to Georg Pickel and Hildegard Guschke Pickel on March 8, 1942 in Ipsheim, Germany.

In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her grandson, Reinhard Sponseller, Jr. Monika leaves many to cherish her memory: her loving husband of almost 59 years, Richard Sponseller of Clarksville, TN; children: Robert Sponseller of Clarksville, TN, Mary Brewer of Clarksville, TN, Ricky (Jennifer) Sponseller of Windsor, MO, Missy (Jerry) Cross of Clarksville, TN, and Reinhard Sponseller of Clarksville, TN; sisters, Renate Christ of Spechbach, Germany and Elfriede Kempf of Nuestadt, Germany; brother, Jorg Pickel of Bad Windsheim, Germany; 12 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; fur baby, Macy; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and some very close friends.

Monika, Elfriede, Renate, and Jorg grew up in Ipsheim, Germany. During her childhood, they moved to Nuestadt, Germany. When old enough, Monika worked on a local farm to help support her family. Following her high school graduation, she moved to Berelozheim, Germany and began work in a furniture factory. Monika met her husband Richard Sponseller, an Army Solider from Alliance, Ohio, in Germany at Café Dijion in 1961. Monika and Richard were married on November 23, 1963 in Nuestadt, Germany.

They welcomed their first child, Robert in 1964 and shortly thereafter relocated from Nuestadt to New Cumberland Army Depot, Pennsylvania. In 1965 Monika and Richard welcomed their second child, Mary and it wasn’t long before Richard left for California en-route to Vietnam. In addition to being an Army wife and mother, Monika was an immigrant full of determination learning to live in America while her husband was off to war. She worked in a
rubber band factory in Alliance, OH. She taught herself English by reading the newspaper and watching television and mastered driving in the yard. Throughout Richard’s military career, Monika and Richard had 3 more children: Ricky, Melissa, and Reinhard. When Richard retired from the military in 1985, the family moved to Clarksville, TN.

Monika enjoyed going to bingo and playing cards. She loved drives through Fort Campbell to look for deer and Land Between the Lakes, Kentucky to look at the buffalo. She loved animals and mostly enjoyed spending time with her family.

Monika’s family will have a small private gathering at a later date and Monika’s ashes will be interned at the Kentucky West Veteran’s Cemetery in Hopkinsville, KY.

Please visit Monika's tribute wall and share a memory with the family.