On May 22, 1917, in a flat on the south side of Chicago, Emma Bertha Berger entered this life a few minutes after her sister, Anna. Physically they were two of a kind, but their personalities were distinctly different. Emma enjoyed the matching outfits and the stir they caused in public, while Anna disliked being half of a unit. Throughout their lives, firstborn Anna was a natural leader and happily called herself a maverick; Emma was quieter and preferred staying out of the spotlight, but she possessed an inner strength.

In spite of differences the twins were best friends. They excelled in school, and each became an accomplished organist. Staunch German blood flowed in their veins from their father who, at the age of twelve, managed a sandwich shop at the end of a Chicago streetcar line, and from their mother who sailed alone to this country at the same age.

During World War II Anna, while serving in Seattle as a Navy nurse, met a young sailor and the two were married before the war was over. The minister at the wedding, George Weiss, lost his heart to the maid of honor, Emma, who could have doubled for the bride. Some correspondence began between Seattle and Chicago, and in 1946 another wedding took place.

With mixed emotions Emma moved west with her husband. Their belongings were packed into a Model A Ford. She left not only her home, but a position of importance and excitement as private secretary to Mr. Laurens Hammond, president of Hammond Instrument Company. During the war the organ manufacturing plant had secretly become a technology development center for the military, producing defense materials and a fledgling aircraft guidance system developed in the laboratory by Mr. Hammond himself. Generals and colonels came in and out through tight security and past Miss Berger's desk, but in addition to her normal duties Emma was one of the many "Computer Women" of the time who signed on to do calculations in support of various military design and development projects during World War II.

After their marriage, she used her secretarial skills in various ways from work at Seattle's King County Jail to personal secretary to her minister husband. When George passed in 1995 Emma was at his side, as she had been for nearly 50 years.

Emma witnessed the changes of the century: from gas lights to electricity; from daily ice delivery to side-by-side refrigerators; from Hupmobiles to space stations; from slide rules and manual typewriters to solar calculators and personal computers; from hand-crank telephones to cell phones.

From earliest years, Emma's personal faith in God was strong and consistent. Prayer and Bible study were always part of her life. Music was important to her and became one expression of her faith. Although her musical training was classical, at the end of her life her favorite song was still "Jesus Loves Me."

On May 17, 2025, Emma entered into her rest in Colville, Washington. Emma was preceded in death by her husband, W.G. (George) Weiss, her twin sister Anna Parker, and her brother Bert R. Berger, Jr. She is survived by her brother, Albert P. Berger of Mount Vernon, WA; her children Fred Weiss (Kathy) of Newberg, OR; and Ruth Anne Johnson (Bruce) of Colville, WA; grandchildren Bethany Ross (Zach) of Colville, WA, Ben Weiss (Katie) of Sherwood, OR, and Christina Weiss of Portland, OR; and five great-grandchildren.