Ene Marie Thomsen passed away on October 21, 2025, at age 94, after a short illness. She died peacefully in her home at The Arbor at Galloway Ridge in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
Ene Marie was born in the village of Timring, Denmark on June 25, 1931, to Charles and Sigrun Bredkjær Jensen. During WWII, German occupying forces took over her family estate at Ny Møltrup, while her family secretly worked in the resistance. She completed nursing school at the Århus Amts Hospital in 1954. In June 1955, she married Harry Thomsen from the neighboring town of Vildbjerg, and together they set out on a lifelong adventure across the world. After completing a year of studies at the University of Chicago, Harry and Ene Marie travelled on to Japan, where they were active for over a decade as Lutheran missionaries. They first established churches in Kyoto and then founded Shinreisan, a Christian community and agricultural school in Shizuoka Prefecture of Japan. They left Japan to return to their native Denmark in 1966 and after four years, they emigrated to the Unites States, taking up residence in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and eventually becoming US citizens. After his arrival in the USA, Harry became active as an international art dealer and Ene Marie took care of the children and the household.
Harry passed away in 2014, and after death of her husband, Ene Marie moved from Colorado Springs to the Galloway Ridge retirement home in Pittsboro, NC, in order to be close to her family. She was a beloved member of her community and a loyal member of the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill. She had three children: Erik, who was born in Chicago in 1956, married artist Cornelia Piatkowski, and works as an Asian art dealer in New York City; Hans Bjarne, who was born in Kyoto in 1957, married artist Chikako Fukami, and teaches Asian Art History at the University of Zürich; and Inger Sigrun, who was born in Kyoto in 1965, married Dr. Benjamin Brodey, and teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ene Marie is survived by the three children, twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.
A memorial service will take place at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chapel Hill, NC on January 4, 2026 at 2 pm with a reception to follow. Ene Marie will be buried alongside her husband at Vildbjerg Church in Denmark in August, 2026. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Chapel Hill, NC) or the American Cancer Society.
