Trudy Lewis' Obituary
Gertrud Anna Witzmann Lewis known to all as Trudy.Trudy was born March 15, 1924, to Franz and Anna Witzmann in Linz, Austria. She was the fourth child, being the first to survive past infancy. She was baptized (March 23, 1924, Maria Empfangnis Kirche, Linz, Austria) and confirmed in the Roman Catholic church. Trudy grew up in Linz, Austria when Hitler came to power in Germany. Her life and her family’s lives were forever changed with that historic event. Trained as a nurse during her teenage years, she ministered to German soldiers injured during World War II. After the war, a woman who was Lutheran befriended her. There was so much turmoil in Austria at that time and Trudy was disillusioned with the Catholic church. This friend took Trudy to her church. It was during this time that Trudy became a member of the Lutheran church (May 27, 1950, Evangelische Kirche, Linz, Austria).She lived in the part of Linz that was occupied by the United States. She and her sister were referred to the American Forces and they applied for jobs. Trudy could take shorthand in German and was hired as a secretary-interpreter for the United States Air Force. While working for the Armed Forces, she met her future husband, Sidney C. Lewis, a member of the United States Army and part of the American occupation of Linz. They dated while he was in Austria but soon he was transferred back to the United States. She assumed that she would never hear from him again and knew that the Austrian economy would be in shambles for many years. So, in 1952, she emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto. She kept in touch with Sidney’s mother who let her son know where Trudy had ended up. He traveled to Toronto and they were married on February 2, 1953. Their marriage was blessed with two children, Ann and Stan. She was widowed on July 12, 1980. Trudy loved the United States and became a US citizen June 1, 1959. She worked for many years as a medical secretary/administrative assistant for the Department of Orthopedics at William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso. She retired from Civil Service in May 1, 1985. She moved to Dallas, Texas not long after the birth of her grandson, Mark Medley. After moving to Dallas, she worked for Lomas Mortgage until she retired a second time at the age of 71.In El Paso, she was a member of Grace Lutheran Church and Our Savior Lutheran Church. Upon moving to Dallas in 1988, she became an active member of Zion Lutheran Church. She served in several leadership positions for the LWML Moonlighters including president. She also served on the Fellowship club leadership team as well as the hospitality group. She was active in the Dallas Austrian Club and volunteered at the Baylor Senior Medical Center, receiving an award for over 1000 hours of volunteer service. She was also involved in many other community groups including Aggie Moms Club of Dallas, National Active and Retired Federal Employees, the Garland Senior Center and Red Hatters. She served as President of the Aggie Moms Club of El Paso.She was preceded in death by her parents; infant siblings Franz, Ernestine and Margaret Witzmann; and adult sisters, Lily Plank, and Angie Bixler, as well as her husband, Sidney. She is survived by her son, Stan Lewis, her daughter Ann Medley, son-in-law Bill Medley, grandson Mark Medley, brothers-in-law Bill and Noel Lewis and their wives, sister-in-law Arline Lewis, and numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by our Christmas family: the Abbotts, Caruthers, Boehnes, Peters, and Matthews as well as Susan Dumas.Visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Tuesday, December 19, at Restland Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held Wednesday, December 20, at 11:00 AM at Zion Lutheran Church, 6121E. Lovers Lane, Dallas, TX, 75214. Interment will be at Fort Bliss National Cemetery in El Paso, TX.In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Zion Lutheran Church, Dallas, “Boldly Building Zion’s Mission” building fund or Zion’s music ministry.
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