Claudine Weber-Hof

Dear Reader

On 16 January, we lost our beloved colleague and friend Claudine Weber-Hof.
Claudine had been deputy editor of Spotlight from March 2009 and nobody could have wished for a better person to fill that position. She was loved not only by the Spotlight team, but by everybody in the Verlag. Always ready to listen to the woes and worries of her colleagues, her advice was intelligent and considered.

Claudine was dedicated to her work as both a writer and an editor, and this showed in the energy and concentration that she brought to her work. We strive at Spotlight to create products that have as few errors as possible. If there have been very few of these over the years, it was on account of Claudine, who spotted most last-minute mistakes.

Claudine was American by birth. She graduated from Georgetown University with a bachelor of science in foreign service (cum laude) in 1992 and received a master’s in architectural history from the University of Virginia in 1997. After moving to Germany, Claudine worked at a number of different publishing houses before joining Spotlight Verlag as a staff writer and an editor in 2007.
She became deputy editor in 2009.

From the beginning, it was clear that Claudine was a gem in our midst. She had a glorious sense of humour — the sound of her laughter was unique and infectious — and she would diffuse difficult situations with a spontaneous joke. Her manners were impeccable, and when colleagues heard the news of her death, it was the small and unobtrusive gestures of thanks that many of us remembered.

These qualities are now lost to us. However, Claudine would very likely have wanted to be remembered for her writing. Her travel articles and features were beautifully written and speak to us through her singular voice: informed, funny, sometimes a little wry, but always with charm and flair. Please take a moment to enjoy Claudine talking to you in her own words.