Gertrude (Schoenhals) Born

Gertrude was born September 3, 1927, to Henry and Lydia Schoenhals on the family farm in Lipscomb County, the second of ten children. She graduated Valedictorian from Darrouzett High School in 1945 and received her Nursing degree from St. Anthony’s Nursing School in 1949 in Amarillo, Texas. Gertrude worked as a nurse in Waco, Texas,  Wichita, Kansas, and Shattuck Oklahoma. She married Leroy Born on July 14th, 1955, and settled with him on a ranch 10 miles south of Darrouzett.

When the duties of motherhood allowed, Gertrude spent her spare time tending her fruit trees and flowers, and toiled tirelessly in her large vegetable garden during the summers. If she finished those chores with time to spare, she was often seen pulling weeds and picking up sticks off her lawn, a most certainly unending chore. After living 40 years on the ranch south of town she said she’d had enough of dirt roads and they moved to Darrouzett in 1988. She was a lifelong member of St. John’s Congregational Church and attended the First Baptist Church of Darrouzett after moving into town.

Having never lost her passion for healthcare, she offered unflagging care and advice for those in need and was always on the lookout for the latest natural remedy that might benefit the health of anyone around her. Rarely did one visit Gertrude that she did not have some new potion or supplement to offer anyone willing to try it. Her diligence in eating and living healthy surely helped her heal from not one but two breaks to her hip at age 85.

After battling Dementia for over 10 years, the Lord called Gertrude home on February 1st, 2022, at Twin Oaks Manor in Booker, Texas. She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Lydia Schoenhals, her brothers Harold, Harry, Edward, Roy, Clarence, and Henry Lee Schoenhals. Gertrude is survived by her husband, Leroy Born, her 2 children, Marian McClenagan and Daniel Born, brothers Alvin, Elmer, and Lawrence Schoenhals, grandchildren Ryan, Megan, Catherine, and Noa, and 2 great grandchildren.