Tribute to Michel Fehrenbach, a personage in the international community of Paris, who passed away in October 2024.
Many in the English speaking community, especially those of the « FUSAC Generation » knew Michel (and Daria his wife who was rarely seen but the backbone of the back office) as he helped us to get our French driving license. For more than 30 years his Fehrenbach Driving School advertised in FUSAC offering his services to English speakers. In fact Michel was one of our first clients. And we thank him for believing in us at our beginnings. The Driving School, now run by Axelle and Charles, his daughter and son, is still a client, making the Fehrenbach Driving School our longest client of all.
To prepare that first ad I remember carefully scanning the horizontal logo with our hand scanner. It must have been about 1989. The logo on paper was wider than the scanner and so we had to go over it in two sections then piece them together. You had to be at just the right speed and very straight to get the two pieces to match. Hmm, that sounds a bit like driving a car. Just the right speed, just the right spot on the road.
Michel made going to driving school fun. Thank heavens, because we were both experienced drivers with a driver’s license from the USA, but legislation said we had to get French ones. As it turns out it was a good idea to go through the process and Michel’s course because we learned all the signs and situations. Slide after slide in the classroom. Once we mastered that, Michel took us out in the car. His corny jokes kept us interested. One of the favorites was about keeping a “spring chicken complexion” by avoiding getting hit. One day in the USA we found a trucker hat with a plastic chicken on a spring on the brim! You guessed it, we brought it back to Michel and he kept it in the driver’s ed car. During the actual driving test, because we supposedly couldn’t speak French, Michel acted as interpreter. The test monitor sat in the front passenger seat; Michel sat in the back seat behind the candidate. A couple times he gave the seat a bump to remind to not anticipate the French instructions and let on our knowledge of the language. Michel truly loved all his clients and helped 1000s get their license: Africans, Americans, Japanese… He learned “turn left and turn right” in all of our languages. He took particular pleasure in rattling off his phrase in Japanese.
Lisa, John and Michel at Thanksgiving
We became friends with Michel and Daria over the years. We shared many a FUSAC Thanksgiving dinner. Michel was always the first to sign up each year. He usually started asking us about Thanksgiving plans in early September. We’ll never forget his love for Thanksgiving. The whole Fehrenbach family joined us forour FUSAC fishing party too.
Michel’s fish
Michel loved classic cars, good wine, cooked a delicious meal of scallops and Noilly Prat and very much loved playing jazz on his clarinet. It was Michel who introduced us to Django Reinhardt and Jazz manouche or gypsy jazz. He was passionate about jazz. Here’s an article about him, 86, and a friend doing a benefit concert. In the fourth quarter of his life he learned how to fly and was passionate about that too. We think of him when we see a small plane in the sky near the aerodrome of St Cyr l’Ecole.
Michel, the bon vivant passionné, we miss you and thank you for your years as our instructor, client and friend. Indeed, you are what the French call un original and your art of living – vif, créatif et généreux – touched us all.
Lisa and John VandenBos