Gertrude SCHNEIDER

  General Notes:

The following information was provided through the archives of the Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation located in Monroe, Michigan.

Gertrude Schneider entered the Immaculate Heart of Mary Congregation on 10/1/1886 from Holy Redeemer parish in Detroit. She was received as a novice on 3/17/1887, and took her final vows into the congregation on 3/28/1889.

What follows are notes handwritten on the back of some primary seatwork sheets in her file folder and compiled by Sister Rose Matthew, IHM:

"In Sister Winifred's childhood days, her home--the beautiful Schneider farm just outside Detroit's western limits--was far away from a Catholic church or school. And being one of the older members of the family she had no contact with religious teachers as did the
younger members of the family.

"Sister Winifred's cousins who lived in Saint Boniface parish, Detroit, often invited her to come to her church for Mass and Holy Communion, and to their home for breakfast. Gladly did she accept their kind invitation, and at once she became interested in the IHM Sisters who taught Saint Boniface School. So much so, that she explained to her Redemptorist confessor (Father Egidus Smulders) her desire to be a Sister of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He approved of her decision, and soon she was ready to enter as the first postulant from the new Redemptorist parish of Holy Redeemer.

"As a religious at the Motherhouse or any of her missions, she was ever ready to give a helping hand to the needy. And in every duty assigned to her, she proved how reliable she was, and of deep interest in her work for the love of God and salvation of souls.
"As a teacher she gave her pupils a solid foundation upon which, day-by-day, they were to build upon the plan she proposed to them. That required careful thought of what they were doing. Guess work would mean failure because of their lack of effort. No wonder, at the end of the school year the pupils were thoroughly prepared for admission to a higher grade."

Gertrude and her twin sister, Mary, both entered the IHM Congregation in Monroe on 10/1/1886. Mary eventually returned home but remained very close to her sister and a very good friend and benefactor of the community.

The marble alters found in the present Motherhouse chapel were formerly in the old chapel built back in 1879. They were donated by the Schneider family, largely at Mary's urging. Mary herself donated the altar for the Sacred Heart Chapel in Saint Mary Academy, Monroe (circa 1932). Note: Saint Mary Academy today is known as Saint Mary Center. It houses about 30 educational and human service groups which serve the Monroe community.

The IHM Archives has a spinning wheel used by Sister Winifred's mother, Gertrude Reiden Schneider. It was used and treasured by the family for over a 100 years. The spinning wheel was donated to the congregation by Mrs. Schneider's granddaughter, Delores Hackett Schneider, in 1965, on the 50th anniversary of her 1915 graduation from Saint Mary Academy.

In 1916, Sister Winifred was injured when she struck her arm against a swinging door. An X-ray showed that the bone was infected with tuberculosis. Faced with amputation (and in those days, immediate removal from classroom teaching) or a few years more of teaching with great pain, she chose the latter. She served for many years, keeping her pain to herself, often keeping her arm fastened to her belt with a piece of blue habit material so that others would not notice.

Schools where Sister Winifred taught:
Saint Joseph, Detroit: 1888, 1901-1903;
Saint John, Jackson: 1889, 1893-1900;
Saint Michael, Monroe: 1890;
Saint Patrick, Carleton: 1891-1892;
Saint Boniface, Detroit: 1904-1915;
Saint Mary, Monroe: 1918-1932;
Our Lady of Help, Detroit: 1918-1932;
Epiphany, Detroit: 1933

When she retired (1934-1947) she took charge of the clothesroom at the motherhouse in Monroe, making certain that the laundry was correctly distributed, labeled and mended. She was extremely kind and helpful to others, and had the gift of understanding young people and being able to motivate them to their best efforts.

Her funeral mass was celebrated on 10/25/1947 by the Rev. Clement J. Esper. He was stationed at Our Lady of Lourdes in river Rouge, and is noted as a cousin. The death notice indicates her burial was at an "old family site in Holy Cross Cemetery" in Detroit.

In the IHM congregation in the 1980s and 90s was Sister Marilyn Schneider, a relative of Sister Winifred.

The above account is taken verbatim from a paper furnished by Richard Schneider, Buffalo Grove, Illinois, who provided much of the genealogical information in this project. There is a handwritten note indicating that Sister Winifred is actually buried in Monroe in the IHM cemetery.