Brigitte U. Getz

Brigitte Getz was born on April 17, 1944 in Bremerhaven, Germany to Ursula Krenz and Georg Meyer. She lived in Bremerhaven, spending summers with aunts and uncles on their farms, until she married James J. Brennan, a member in the United States Air Force. They lived together in the Landsthul/Rampstein area of Germany and had a daughter, Patricia B. Brennan. After her husband left the Air Force, they moved to Woodstock, Illinois. Brigitte and her husband divorced and each moved separately to the North side of Chicago. Brigitte enjoyed city life working for the advertising agency D'Arcy Masius MacManus and sailing on Lake Michigan during her free time. In the Seventies, Brigitte married George J. Getz, a horse race trainer and owner. George’s horse racing career took them to the Kentucky Derby and various race courses in California, Florida, and New York. To move closer to the Arlington Race Track where George primarily trained, Brigitte reluctantly left the city life. However, she fell in love with life on the Nickels and Dimes horse farm in Libertyville, which she and Goerge purchased with a partner in 1980. There, Brigitte rediscovered her farm roots. She loved being on the farm taking care of the horses, especially the new foals. Nickels and Dime Farm became a premier farm for horse breeding because Brigitte made sure all the horses received the best of care. She also became a pet owner for the first time and at one point had three corgis and two cats. In 1990, the Nickels and Dimes Farm was sold and Brigitte and George moved to Shore Acres in Lake Bluff. At Shore Acres, Brigitte created exquisite flower gardens overlooking Lake Michigan and beautifully decorated their home. Brigitte was quite artistic, which she expressed through her gardening, decorating, and flair for fashion. She enjoyed decorating for the holidays. Christmas was her favorite holiday and her Christmas decorations were legendary. She and George lived happily at Shore Acres until he died in 2011. Brigitte then moved to Lake Forest where she spent her remaining years with her corgis and cats. She created new beautiful flower gardens in her Lake Forest home. She enjoyed spending her days walking on the open land and forest preserves in Lake Forest and surrounding areas and tending to her gardens, pets, and home and visits from her daughter. Brigitte wanted to make life more beautiful, which she did through her gardening, decorating, fashion, and cooking. Brigitte was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2020, and yet she continued with her life non-stop with incredible strength, fortitude and dignity. Brigitte’s favorite season was Spring, the season of renewed life. Brigitte was born in the Spring and aptly left us in the Spring. Brigitte was survived by her daughter, Patricia B. Brennan, and family in Germany, her sister Susanna Jainz, her brother-in-law Fred Jainz, her niece, Adriana Jainz, and great nephew, Leonard Jainz. A graveside service will be held at 11:30 am on Friday, April 4, 2025 at Lake Forest Cemetery, 1525 Lake Road, Lake Forest, Illinois.

Brigitte U. Getz

April 17, 1944 - April 1, 2025