Celebrating the memory of Juergen Lorenz, and supporting AUB students
February 5, 2021
“We were very touched when Bisher Azem approached us regarding setting up an endowed scholarship fund in my father’s name at the American University of Beirut and are very happy to contribute to this initiative in his memory,” remembers his son, Willmar Lorenz. The Juergen Lorenz Endowed Scholarship Fund will be a permanent memorial at AUB for Juergen Lorenz. It will also provide urgently needed scholarship support for AUB students today – and for generations to come. “I could not think of a better way to memorialize Mr. Juergen,” explains Azem. Other family friends have also stepped forward to support the fund including Sami Atallah.
Willmar’s father, Juergen, lived an extraordinary life. (See bio below.) “We are very proud that our father’s name will be permanently associated with a scholarship fund at AUB,” says Willmar. “This means a lot to all of us – my mother, my sisters, and our families.”
Commenting on the establishment of the Juergen Lorenz Endowed Scholarship Fund, Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Salma Oueida noted that support for scholarships was an especially high priority for AUB. “The economic situation in Lebanon is terrible and affecting everyone,” she said. “It is so important that students be able to continue their studies. We are very grateful to the Lorenz family and their good friends for this wonderful and very generous initiative.”
Juergen Lorenz
1942 – 2020
Juergen Lorenz, lovingly known as George by friends and family, was born in Lima, Peru in January 1942 in the midst of the 2nd World War. His parents, Willmar and Eleonore Lorenz had emigrated there from Germany in the 1930s due to their concerns about the Nazi party’s rise to power and seeking the opportunities that South America provided at that time.
Shortly after Juergen’s birth all German citizens were expelled from Peru and the family was forced to return to Europe, where they settled in Barcelona and then Madrid. Juergen completed school in Madrid and moved on to Freiburg in Germany to further his studies.
His adventurous spirit and passion for life and people took him from there to Libya where he met his Lebanese-Palestinian wife, Mary Yasmineh Lorenz, and on to Lebanon, Egypt, and Cyprus. Juergen and Mary Lorenz decided to settle back in Beirut in 1999 as it was always the place they had felt most at home surrounded by family and friends.
In 1972 Juergen joined Grohe, one of the leading German manufacturers for sanitary ware, and became their representative for the Middle East market based out of Beirut at first. He went on to grow this business becoming the industry leader for the region and expanding the territory to include the Near East, eastern Mediterranean, and Africa after forming a JV partnership with Grohe in these markets.
Juergen’s memory will live on with his wife of 53 years, Mary, their three children Nada, Maya, and Willmar, their sons-in-law Fadi Nader and Marc Malek, and their five grandchildren, Claudia, Katia, Gabriela, Karl, and Sofia.