Gertrude Wuestewald

She was born on January 10, 1910 in Lodi, Illinois to John, a farmer, and Ella Theesfield. She was the oldest of 3 children. Earl was 18 months younger and Lucille, better known as Babe, was 6 years younger than Gert. Later she and her family moved to DePew, Iowa and then to Ladysmith, Wisconsin to farm. Gertrude graduated from Ladysmith High School in 1928 and from Ladysmith Teachers’ College in 1929. Her first teaching job was in De Pew, Iowa in a one-room schoolhouse. Gertrude married Alvin R. Zumach on June 5, 1933 in Ladysmith.

After they were married, they moved to Fenton, Iowa. They ran Zumach’s Café which was on Main Street in Fenton. They ran the café and tavern for 20 years. On June 14, 1938, Alvin and Gert had their only child, Gary Jon.

Gertrude was a wonderful mother and wife. When she wasn’t working part-time at the café, she was busy being a den mother for cub scouts. She was a den mother for many years. Gert loved kids. She was always supportive of her sons love for animals, allowing him to have many pets including hamsters, gerbils, birds, dogs, and even an alligator.

She went back to teaching in the 1950’s. She taught 3rd grade in Halfa, located by Estherville. A new job for Alvin, selling feed, brought them to Lake View in 1960. In the 60’s, Gert taught 4th grade at Ar-We-Va until retiring in 1973. Gert was proud of the Conservation Award that she was given while teaching at Ar-We-Va. Gary married Jan Tjaden on June 8, 1963. On January 29, 1968, Julia Rae was born. The family was now the Zumach Five, surprisingly became the Zumach Six! Gert reassured Julie that she would not give away any of Julie’s love to Katie. Grandma would just make more love for Katie. Gert was active in several card clubs during these years and she loved playing 500, Bridge, and Euchre. She played cards with luck and guts! She rarely let the bid go by! Gert and Alvin were married for 54 years before Alvin passed away in May of 1987 when he was 80 years old.

In the spring of 1990, Gary and his family moved to Hazelhurst, Wisconsin to run Warbonnet Zoo. Gert followed! Gert met Jack Wuestewald at the senior center. Gert and Jack were friends for many years before being married on September 8, 1999. They lived at Riverview Care Center in Tomahawk, Wisconsin. Jack was Gert’s companion and caregiver until he passed away in October of 2001. Gert spent the remainder of her life at the care center.

Gertrude was very influential in the lives of her two granddaughters, Julie and Katie. She spent many hours babysitting. The hours flew by! They were consumed with making mud pies, playing in the rain, “plutzing” (more commonly known as making a really big mess), cutting out paper dolls, and playing cards. Gert made sure her offspring had “good card sense”. Gert always took care of her granddaughters if they were sick. She was loved for her ‘sicky’ gifts. She taught her granddaughters to watch and appreciate geese and birds. She also made sure her granddaughters knew how to knit, crochet, and sew. Her granddaughters learned how to appreciate flowers and houseplants. Gert loved her peonies, iris and African violets. She also wanted to make sure that we knew who we were and where we came from. She always told us great bedtime stories about how Jan and Gary met each other. She passed on much of her family history and morals this way. Her girls also learned the importance of having a compass. Grandma was always turning east when she was supposed to turn west! Grandma helped Katie feel better one day after she threw Grandma’s fishing pole in the water. There was never any reason to cry when Grandma was around because she could fix anything. If you were hungry before supper, you ate early. If you wanted to do something that you never got to do at home, you did it at Grandma’s. If your dog ran away at the fair and was lost, you got a new puppy. Grandma was great!

Gertrude passed away on Monday, March 1, 2004, at Riverview Care Center in Tomahawk, WI, at the age of 94 years 1 month and 21 days.

Survivors include her son Gary Zumach and his wife Janet of Hazelhurst, WI; two granddaughters: Julie and her husband Steve DenHerder of Des Moines, IA, and Katie and her husband Josh Hoffer of Sheboygan Falls, WI; five great-grandchildren; a brother Earl Theesfield of Mesa, AZ; and a sister Lucille Graeber of Mesa, AZ.

Gertrude was preceded in death by her parents; husband Alvin Zumach May 13, 1987, and Jack Wuestewald on October 2, 2001.

Funeral services will be held Friday, March 5th, 2:00 pm, at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Lake View, with Reverend James Travis officiating and Jim Stock organist. Pallbearers include: Marlin Torgerson, Larry Torgerson, Steve DenHerder, Josh Hoffer, Robert Cleveland, and James Frisbie. Burial will be at the Ferguson Cemetery in Lake View under the direction of Farber & Otteman Funeral Home. Friends who wish to send condolences may do so online.

Visitation will be at the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home in Lake View from 6:00-8:00 pm on Thursday, March 4th.