Franciscan Sister Gertrude (Trudy) Schommer, 86, died Jan. 9, at St. Francis Convent, Little Falls. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at a later date at St. Francis Convent.
The fourth of five children of Edward and Gertrude (Mergen) Schommer, Sister Trudy was born May 18, 1937, in Wayzata, Minnesota. She was accepted as a Franciscan Sister of Little Falls, Minnesota, on July 31, 1955 and was a Franciscan Sister for 68 years.
Sister Trudy earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from St. Catherine’s College in St. Paul; a master’s degree in theology from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York; certification as a spiritual director at LaCasa de la Luz in Lafayette, California, and a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California.
Sister Trudy ministered as an elementary teacher, director of religious education, campus minister, pastoral minister, secretary/bookkeeper, faith formation coordinator, parent educator, childhood family educator and program manager. In Minnesota, she served in St. Cloud, Fergus Falls, Little Falls, Waite Park, Morris, White Bear Lake, New Ulm, Preston and Lanesboro. She also served in Wisconsin and Maryland.
She wrote “Easiest Gospel Plays Ever,” a book to inspire children to act out the Gospels. She traveled to Israel in 1977 for six weeks of study and to visit holy sites.
Sister Trudy was preceded in death by her parents, brother, Edward and sister, Patricia. Survivors include siblings Kathleen Mulhern, Wykoff, Minnesota, and Barbara (Rolf) Engel, St. Paul.; nieces and nephews and her Franciscan Community.
Donations preferred to Franciscan Sisters ministries.
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