Gertrude Schuette

Gertrude Marie Christine "Trudy" Schuette, age 91 of Norway, formerly of Pigeon, Michigan, passed away Monday, December 3, 2012 at Pinecrest Medical Care Facility in Powers, Michigan.

Gertrude Marie Christine Richter was born on December 23, 1920 in Detroit, to Rev. Emil Edward George and Martha Sophia Wilhelmine (Lembke) Richter, while her father was conducting a funeral service.

The youngest of seven children, she spent her childhood in Detroit and Pemberville, Ohio where her father served as pastor of several Lutheran Churches.
She graduated in 1938 from Pemberville, Ohio High School and attended business school in Detroit.

When her father was called to serve as pastor of Cross Lutheran Church in Pigeon, Gertrude came to live with them, working in a dental office and as a telephone operator. It was then that she met Adolph Schuette, a lifelong resident of Pigeon, whom she married on May 29, 1943.

They purchased the farm at 329 S. Maxwell Road in Oliver Township where their six children were raised. Adolph preceded her in death on June 20, 2001. In 2008 she moved to Norway, Michigan to live with her daughter and son-in-law.

Gertrude was very active in Cross Lutheran Church as a choir member, Sunday School teacher, and women's circle groups. Beside her busy work on the farm, she loved to garden, sew, read, and work on cross-stitch projects. She also was an excellent cook.

She is survived by her children Catherine (Jose) Garcia of Ypsilanti, Miriam (Art) Belding of Norway, Herbert (Ellen) Schuette of Huntersville, NC, Margaret Schuette of Kalamazoo, Paul (Karen) Schuette of Pigeon, and Elizabeth (Jack) Tinker of Middletown, CT; fourteen grandchildren; eight great grandchildren; sister Ruth Gambee of Burlington, NC; and several nieces and nephews. Gertrude was preceded in death by her brothers Theodore, Gerhardt and Herbert Richter; and sisters Elsa Vosburgh and Erna Parker.

Visitation will be held Friday, December 7 from 2-7 p.m. at Meyersieck-Bussema Funeral Home in Pigeon and Saturday, December 8 from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. at Cross Lutheran Church in Pigeon.

The Funeral Services will he conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 8, 2012 at Cross Lutheran Church with Rev. Timothy Loehrke, officiating. Interment will follow at the Cross Lutheran Church Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions may be made to Cross Lutheran Church Building Fund, Heifer International or American Diabetes Association.