+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world  ~ …since October 25, 1927, when she was born to Elizabeth and Joseph Quella, of Menasha, Wisconsin. After a hiatus of six years, Gertrude was the seventh child, but the oldest of the youngest “three kids,” Joan being her little sister and Joe her younger brother. The older siblings always kept in close touch, and their Grandma Resch and Aunt Tina lived across the street from the family home. Gertrude’s oldest brother Norb and his wife lived upstairs in the family home, and Gertrude was eager to babysit for them, as well as for her sister Marce’s children. Maybe that’s where she developed her love and fondness for children, which likely led her into teaching.  At 12 years of age, Gertrude caught polio, which damaged her lungs and eventually led her to having asthma by age 40. Her mother died at that same time, leaving Gertrude, Joan, and Joe to be mothered by Catherine, their older married sister.

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world  ~ She was blessed with a keen mind and was good with numbers and math. She was a responsible and good student at St. Mary School in Menasha, where she and Joan were taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Her fourth grade teacher brought up the thought of her entering religious life and Gertrude held this ideal and lifestyle, which matured in her when she was 18 years old. Gertrude and her family knew the Ebben family from the neighborhood and she travelled with the parents of Sister Angele Ebben, already a School Sister of St. Francis, when visiting their daughter in New Prague, Minnesota.

Gertrude went to St. Mary High School in Menasha and on graduating she came to enter the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1946. The Ebbens had brought her postulant habit to Menasha for her to travel in – and save a little on the fare. While crossing Layton Boulevard, Gertrude lost her petticoat – but was undeterred!

A few years later, Joan joined her.  Sharing the ‘Quella jawline, they were often mistaken for each other. Even to this day, family, close friends and coworkers have a hard time telling them apart, especially when they were in habit, or when Joan worked in the U.S. Province offices and Gertrude in the Generalate Development office.

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world ~ Her father was extremely proud of Gertrude as she moved steadily forward in higher education and in religious life. He made some life adjustments to support her. Being present at her entrance into the Novitiate, he asked what name she had been given. Unable to pronounce it, she showed him the card with “Euphrosene” on it – certainly a less familiar saint, but in a growing community it was a stretch to find a unique saint when sisters were entering annually in large numbers. As the first family member to benefit from higher education, Gertrude earned her bachelor’s degree at Alverno College, preparing her to become a teacher. Gertrude had a creative spirit within her: In the Postulancy, she did still life oil painting, pottery, calligraphy, and later lettered and carved symbols on candles for sisters marking Receptions and Jubilees.

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world ~ Gertrude’s initial assignment at St. Mark School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, gained her 16 years of stability, as she settled into a large convent and school. This quiet sister taught second grade and prepared 65 children annually for First Communion, served as sacristan, and director of religious education during the school year, as well as in the summertime!  She joined other sisters on Sister Francella’s – Margaret Geiger’s – pet project of making hundreds of Communion veils for local parishes and many shipped far and wide. She also noticed and encouraged Gertrude’s calligraphy skills. It was in Kenosha in 1949 where she first met Linda Gesbeck, who became a lifelong friend. Gertrude was mentored by Sister Margaret and Sister Fabiola – Marie Grosse –who saw her leadership potential.

Gertrude’s next mission as principal was in Cassville, in the far west of Wisconsin, where she  taught, amongst others, Sister Beth Schmitz. One highlight was when Mr. Eckstein, who donated Marquette’s Law School and owned a shipping company, offered her a trip on a barge with three companions – her sister Joan, Linda and Joan Kohler - down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. However, due to silting, they were picked up by helicopter and flown part-way!

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world ~ Several years later, as principal in Slinger, Wisconsin, she earned her master’s degree from Clarke College in Dubuque, Iowa. It was during such a summer 44 years ago that Sister Joann Riesterer called her to invite her, along with Sisters Romilda Simon and Elizabeth-Rose Kress, to allow me to live in community with them at Slinger. I was a director of religious education in Menomonee Falls at the time. Thankfully, sight unseen, all three sisters said “YES”! That was the beginning of our enduring friendship. Over the years Gertrude and I moved to Milwaukee and lived with other sisters, including Sisters Theophane and Janet, Rosemary Rombalski and Marie Elizabeth Pink, and Ann Newcomer, who was exploring religious life.

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world ~ When Gertrude’s hearing became impaired, she retired from the teaching world and served 20 more years in the Development Office ministry at Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Hospital. Her accuracy and eye for detail made her an invaluable asset. She enjoyed those years with Sisters Bernadette Kalscheur, Dorothy Wood, Beverly Bach, Mary Ann Eichenseer, Kate Brenner and many lay staff.

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world ~ Gertrude exercised steady leadership in quiet, gentle ways, developing her ability to become more assertive and participative throughout her years of service in education, religious education, personal development, and as a Provincial Assembly delegate and Area Coordinator.

A highlight of these years was to travel to England with me, visiting my family and my good friend in Scotland, and going to Germany to discover her family’s origins in Gelsenkirchen, seeing the mine where her father had worked, and meeting some of her family.

Gertrude aways loved and was good at cooking. She loved family visits entertaining both at our home and theirs in northern Wisconsin and Neenah and Menasha, her homeland.

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world ~ Gertrude was a homebody content to sit in the sun, enjoying the flowers, butterflies, water, and the birds. She was a peaceful, patient woman, and I don’t recall her raising her voice or being angry. As Gertrude aged, her hearing was poor and she so missed listening to bird calls, but she liked to watch the birds at the feeder outside the kitchen window. The uprooting from our longtime Mt. Vernon apartment home was hard on her, though she knew it was for the best as she needed more assistance.

After six months at Clement Manor, she adjusted to her room at Sacred Heart so well once she arrived, knowing that I was but five minutes away. She very much enjoyed visits with her family. With arms folded, sitting in her favorite comfy chair, she’d pray her daily prayers, do spiritual reading, read the paper and an occasional novel, and doze off and on. She had few wants or needs – except for dark chocolate. She downgraded to a rollator and then a wheelchair even in her room. She was determined not to fall– and she didn’t!

I accompanied her on doctor visits. She adjusted to the staff and pace of life at Sacred Heart. We spent many an evening watching some of our PBS favorites and Packer games, eating popcorn.  She was content and often said, “You don’t have to come over.”

She enjoyed the red blooms on the amaryllis that I bought her at Christmas. The seventh bloom died last Friday. I was with her all night and she remained in the same position in bed, on oxygen. She died peacefully on Saturday morning, while I had stepped out!!

+ Gertrude has been a quiet, gentle presence in the world.

By S. Angela Ireland, SSSF