Memorial

Gertrude Louise Ilten Schmidt died peacefully on October 25, 2018.  A memorial service will be held November 11, 2018 at Trinity Lutheran Church; Cedar Rapids at 1pm.  A visitation will be held prior to service from 11am-1pm at Cedar Memorial Westside Chapel. 

She was born October 8, 1917, to Robert C. and Hulda Brammer Ilten in Cedar Rapids, IA.  Gertrude attended Trinity Lutheran School, Wilson Jr. High, graduated from Grant High School (1934) and received a B.A. from Coe College in 1939.  

She taught high school business for one year at Whitten and Stanley Consolidated Schools and married her college sweetheart, LaSalle Arthur “Buster” Schmidt on August 1940.  They lived all their married life in Delhi, Iowa, except during World War II.  Buster served in the Navy during that time; and Gertrude, with baby Karen (born 1942), lived with her parents in Cedar Rapids until the war was over, during which time she worked at Coe College.  Gertrude, Buster, and Karen returned to Delhi in 1946.  A second daughter, Kathleen, was born in 1947.  Buster passed away suddenly in 1968.  From 1964 to 1972 Gertrude taught German at Maquoketa Valley High School.  In 1972, Gertrude sold the family home and moved to Iowa City where she attended the University of Iowa and received her M.A. in adult education.  Following graduation, Gertrude worked for the University of Iowa Conference Center coordinating conferences and helped establish Continuing Education Units (CEUs) until retirement in 1983. 

Gertrude lived her life full of love, kindness, and service to others.  She was a dedicated homemaker, wife, mother, grandmother, nana and friend.  She enjoyed volunteering at various organizations including The Red Cross, Voter Election Assistance, St. Paul’s Chapel (Iowa City), and Trinity Lutheran Church (Cedar Rapids) to name a few.  When a family friend, Edith Coltman, required her assistance, she moved to Manchester, IA, to be Edith’s guardian and caretaker.  Following Edith’s death, Gertrude moved to Sturgeon Bay, WI to live with her daughter, Karen and family.  After five delightful years in Door County, Gertrude decided to retire to the Meth-Wick Community where she was a happy resident for 18 years.

Gertrude was a life-long member of Trinity Lutheran church in Cedar Rapids, Ia.  She was a member of Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML), American Legion Auxiliary, Kappa Delta Sorority, and P.E.O. Chapters AS (Manchester) and NA (Iowa City).

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, her brothers (Theodore John and Eugene R. Ilten), sister-in-law (Jane Wheeler Ilten), and dear daughter Karen E. Schmidt Mathews.

She is survived by her beloved daughter, Kathleen E. Schmidt Renquist, of Iowa City, IA; her brothers Robert B. Ilten (Patricia) of Overland Park, KS; Rev. James B. Ilten (Nadine) of Lombard, IL; Rev. Philip H. Ilten (Sheila) of Arroyo Grande, CA; and her sister-in-law Regina Schmidt of Dubuque, IA. She also leaves her grandchildren Heidi Mathews Kapacinskas, (David Berglund) of Edina, MN;  Joel (Jennifer) Mathews, of Sturgeon Bay, WI;  Seth (Michiyo) Renquist of Okinawa, Japan;  Raili (Matthew) Renquist Neibauer of Ft. Collins, CO; and Joshua (Ashley) of Philadelphia, PA:   Her great-grandchildren Andrew, Kathryn, and Robert Kapacinskas, of Edina, MN;  Wren, Guy, Joe, and Tuck Renquist of Okinawa, Japan;  Kaden and Abigail Neibauer of Ft. Collins, CO; and Oliver, Finn, Henry, and Leo Mathews of Sturgeon Bay, WI.

In lieu flowers, memorials may be given to Trinity Lutheran Church and School of Cedar Rapids, IA; The Wick Endowment (1224 13th St NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405), or Unity Point Hospice.