TRUDY SCHELLENBERG
Trudy was born March 6, 1922 at her farm home in Rosefarm, Manitoba. She was the second youngest of 5 girls and 2 boys…and she admits she was probably a bit spoiled. She learned loss early though. Trudy was just 7 when her father died, leaving her mother to raise the family and take care of the farm.
Trudy remembers walking two miles to school. She had two dresses, one for weekdays and one for Sundays. She was a bit of a tomboy, the only girl to play on the school baseball team.
Life on the farm meant hard work. Trudy’s 1941 diary is full of entries like “I harrowed 15 acres in forenoon”…”weeded 30 rows of corn”…”finished stooking the barley, started on the oats”. But there was also time for hijinks and fun…like the time Trudy, her sister Annie and a friend led the bull out of its pasture and posed for a picture, one of them pointing a shotgun at it!
When she was 19, Trudy attended a church service that, as she wrote in her diary, “marked a turning point in my life. I accepted Christ as my Saviour.” That was also the year she met Dave Schellenberg. A year later, they were married.
Dave built their first home in Altona, and over the years they had 7 children, 2 of whom died in infancy. In the early years, Trudy and her husband spent much time visiting the sick and shut-in. Dave developed health problems and it was often difficult making ends meet. But Trudy made sure there was always food on the table, and ALWAYS dessert
The family moved to the country in 1961; then, when their children were grown, Trudy and her husband moved into Winkler. Trudy taught herself to sew to meet the “fashion needs” of her two daughters…and when she was in her 60s and Dave wasn’t able to drive anymore, she took driving lessons and got her license.
When Dave developed Parkinson’s disease, Trudy cared for him selflessly day and night. After he died in 1992, Trudy became more involved in her church, visiting shut-ins, delivering birthday cards, folding bulletins and more. Trudy’s hardest loss, though, came in 1997 when daughter Lois died of cancer at the age of 49. But once again, she called on the amazing inner strength that came from her faith in God, and kept going.
By 2008, it was time to let the house go, and Trudy moved into Lion’s Court in Winkler. She spent 9 happy years there before moving into Bethania Mennonite Personal Care Home in Winnipeg in May of 2017, a few months after her 95th birthday. After a few difficult days, Trudy settled in happily and was loved by all until her death in the early hours of Feb. 2. Trudy truly lived the Bible verse “I have learned, whatever state I’m in, to be content.”
Trudy was always expressing gratitude…and as a family, we are so grateful for the example she set for us, and the many years we had together.
If desired, donations in Trudy’s memory can be made to the Bethania Mennonite Personal Care Home Garden Project.
Read Less
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Trudy Schellenberg Saturday February 2nd 2019..
Death notice for the town of: Winnipeg, Province: Manitoba