Meet the Manager: Inge Godfrey

Brooke Army Medical Center Fisher Houses, Texas

Inge Godfrey didn’t know what Fisher House was when she was first asked if she could help at her local house on the weekends. She was a Department of Veterans Affairs nurse at the time, and she accepted a “flex” position where she would be paid for the hours she worked at the Fisher House but receive no other benefits.

That was over 27 years ago. Inge was quickly certified as a manager and is one of the longest serving Fisher House managers. She currently runs the four houses at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Inge grew up in East Germany and left that country just months before the Iron Curtain fell. She emigrated to America and married a member of the U.S. military. The couple worked hard to give back to the U.S., working and volunteering at Fisher Houses and raising children who similarly felt called to serve, both in their local communities and in the U.S. military.

When it comes to serving the guests at her Fisher Houses, Inge concentrates on what will please them and make them happy.

“Our attitude toward pleasing our residents is giving them things so they don’t miss out,” she said.

“The very first Christmas, the volunteers and I, we had the whole house decorated. So, the patients felt like they were walking in a wonderland. And we appreciate them by making them comfortable, having breakfasts on Saturdays. If somebody has a birthday, we make sure they don’t miss it. We have little parties and everything.”

Inge is confident in how to run her house and keep the guests happy.

“I go strictly by the rules Mr. Fisher told us: ‘A home away from home,’ and ‘Love is the best medicine.’ Those are the two rules we live by.”

Inge tries to keep a low profile, insisting that she’s just doing her bit. But she keeps an eye out for small gifts, whether from Texas or Germany or anywhere else, that may make her guests or her fellow managers happy. And she has some major accomplishments that she could brag about if she wanted, from canoeing the Danube from Germany to Bulgaria as a young woman to working for veterans and their families for so long to emigrating across the Atlantic all those years ago.

Hopefully, Fisher House will continue to benefit from her wisdom, grace, and generosity for many years to come.