Emotional farewell Heino's wife Hannelore has already been secretly buried

Heino mourns the loss of his wife Hannelore, who died of cardiac arrest at the age of 81. The singer kept her death to himself for a week. The reason: he wanted to say goodbye in silence.

She was his advisor, manager and better half: singer and actress Hannelore Kramm was Heino's wife for more than four decades.

Now she is dead.

She died a week ago, on November 8, at the age of 81 in Kitzbühel, Austria - at home in her own bed, as Heino's manager Helmut Werner told the German Press Agency on Wednesday. Previously, "Bild " had reported.

"Heino is devastated and in deep mourning," Werner continued.

According to the German tabloid, Hannelore Kramm was buried at the cemetery in Kitzbühel yesterday, Wednesday, in the early hours of the morning. Her black coffin with golden fittings was completely covered with red roses from Heino.

"We are planning a big service for Hannelore"

Apart from her husband, only a few friends are said to have been present at the funeral to support the singer on his most difficult journey. Heino's son Uwe was among those who came to say goodbye to his stepmother.

A fine, handmade wooden cross with the name "Hannelore" was placed on the grave. A special gravestone is to follow later.

Heino's manager Helmut Werner told "Bild": "The unbelievable number of condolences give Heino comfort and touch him deeply. We are planning a big service for Hannelore next year, which all her friends can attend."

Because of Hannelore Kramm, the couple recently moved the center of their lives from Bad Münstereifel to Kitzbühel in Austria. "Hannelore feels better in Austria," said Heino, who was born in Düsseldorf, a year ago. The climate is better for her health.

Heino and Hannelore Kramm married in 1979

Heino and Hannelore married in 1979 and were considered the dream couple of German folk music for many years. Heino was on stage, she was the woman behind it. "If I didn't have Hannelore, I'd still be walking around in a turtleneck", he once said.

After their wedding in 1979, Hannelore Kramm became the most important person for Heino, not only privately but also professionally. The turtlenecks that were so typical of him at the time disappeared - she gave him a new outfit, gave him more confidence in dealing with the media and provided new impetus for his career.

Was she also the driving force behind Heino's new image as a rocker? "She was definitely an enrichment," Heino's management remained vague. "I believe that Hannelore played a decisive role," said someone who initially accompanied Heino alone and later Heino and Hannelore very closely for decades. "Nobody could get past Hannelore on important issues."

However, the fact that folk musician Heino covered Mickie Krause's Ballermann hit "10 nackte Friseusen" is said not to have pleased her at all. "I asked him if he had lost his mind," she was quoted as saying. "How does he still come up with ideas like that at his age?"

Hannelore Kramm suffered a serious car accident in 1968

Born in Linz, Austria, she was already familiar with show business when she married Heino. The fashion designer for dirndl and folklore fashion had already produced records as a singer and appeared in various film roles. But it was above all her two husbands who shaped her public image.

Her marriage to the Austrian Prince Alfred von Auersperg in 1968 made her a real princess. Four years later, the near-disaster: On the drive home to Kitzbühel, the then 31-year-old was thrown eleven meters into the depths in her car. The actress was rescued from her wrecked car with life-threatening injuries.

Heino revealed that he met Hannelore during the filming of the movie "Blau blüht der Enzian". But not on set, but at the "Miss Austria" competition in Kitzbühel, "where we were both on the jury".

The Düsseldorf "youngster" from the working-class district of Oberbilk and the princess: the romance between Heino and Hannelore began in 1977 on the TV show "An Evening in Blue". Heino falls in love with the beauty with the long blonde hair.

A year later, they returned as a couple. Away from the glitz and glamor, Hannelore and Heino marry in Bad Münstereifel in 1979. They enjoyed their private life there for many years. Most recently they lived there in the Kurhaus.

Heino: "Hannelore needs me today more than ever"

The couple endure worrying days when Hannelore is taken to hospital in 2004 with heart problems and undergoes an operation. She was already expecting to be discharged when the doctors unexpectedly transferred her to the University Hospital in Bonn a week later.

There she is given several bypasses. The seriousness of the situation becomes clear a year later when Heino announces the end of his career: "Hannelore needs me now more than ever," he says. Later comes his withdrawal from retirement.

Hannelore Kramm is the always perfectly styled woman with the long blonde hair. In countless photos, in advertising clips - most recently as a rocker bride dressed in black after her husband's image change.

The fact that they left the tranquil little town of Bad Münstereifel and permanently swapped it for the Alpine view at their second home in Kitzbühel was not due to the flood disaster that affected Bad Münstereifel, Heino assured us. It was due to Hannelore's health.

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