Dr. Gertrude J. Geraets Obituary (1924

Let Us Pause To Honor the Memory of Dr. Gertrude J. Geraets Dr. Gertrude J. Geraets, age 90, of Madison, Indiana, entered this life on April 11, 1924 in Pierce County, Wisconsin near Rock Elm on the family farm. She was the loving daughter of the late,Theodore and Hilda Grellinger Geraets. After attending public schools in the county, she earned a B.S. degree from the University of Wisconsin at River Falls and a M.A. and Ed. D. from the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley. Her teaching years were given to educating elementary school children and to preparing their teachers. She began teaching in the elementary schools at Wisconsin, first in the one-room rural school of Pierce County, then at Elmwood and Tomah. From there she taught in the elementary schools of the Atomic Energy Commission at Richland, Washington and Los Alamos, New Mexico. She also taught in the oil fields of Hobbs, New Mexico. In 1957, she left New Mexico to go to Eastern Oregon University at LeGrande where she first taught demonstration classes and guided student teachers at the Laboratory School. Later, she taught college classes in the Elementary Education department there. She also conducted workshops in elementary education in South Eastern Oregon and taught in several summer reading institutes sponsored by the Federal Government. She began teaching at Hanover College in Hanover, Indiana in 1967 and taught in the Elementary Education department there until she retired in 1989. After retirement, she volunteered at the Pope John School Library in Madison and the Madison Jefferson County Public Library. She was a docent for the local historical societies. She did an extended study of the lives of the daughters of Jeremiah Sullivan. She also researched the life on a Madison pioneer doctor, Eudelphia Conklin, and printed a monograph on her. She was a member of the Prince of Peace Catholic Church, Delta Kappa Gamma, and RSVP. During her teaching years, she belonged to several education honoraries; local, state and national education associations and community organizations. Dr. Geraets died on Monday, November 3, 2014, at 8:30 p.m. at the King's Daughters' Hospital in Madison, Indiana. Click Here for Funeral Service A LOVING FAMILY Dr. Geraets is survived by her loving brother, Theodore Geraets of Lillian, Alabama; her niece, Mary Fonstad and her husband, Kenneth of Wauskesa, Wisconsin; her friend and caregiver, Terri Guarino of Madison, Indiana. She was preceded in death by her parents, Theodore and Hilda Grellinger Geraets; her five brothers, Henry, Francis, Fr. Chrysostom, Abbott David and Gary, three half brothers, Leo, Lawrence and Joseph, three sisters, Lillian, Sr. Annette, and Sr. Hildegarde, and two half sisters, Johanna and Marie. MEMORIAL MASS Memorial Mass will be conducted Monday, November 10, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., by Father Christopher A. Craig at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 413 East Second Street in downtown Madison, Indiana. Interment will follow later in the Farm Hill Cemetery in Elmwood, Wisconsin. VISITATION Friends may gather on Monday at 10:00 a.m. until time of the Mass at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church, 413 East Second Street in downtown Madison, Indiana. MEMORIAL EXPRESSIONS Memorial contributions may be made to Donor's Choice. Cards are available at the funeral home. To send a flower arrangement in memory of Dr. Gertrude J. Geraets, please click here to visit our sympathy store.