Gertrude Lucille Keeler Smith

Great Grandma Smith is how I knew her, I really am not sure what other people called my great grandma. Did they call her Gertrude, I can't imagine that they called her Trudy since that was what they called her daughter. Anyway, she was born on 12 Dec 1894 in Geneva, Nebraska to Frank Augusta Keeler and Mary Russell. She has two older siblings Florence Roselin and Arthur Irvin Keeler. When she was a young girl she contracted tuberculosis, they did not think she would live to be 16, but she did. She married a man quite a bit older than herself,18 years older, a widower Frank Thomas Smith. They married in Denver, Colorado on 15 October 1915. He had six children from his first marriage and Gertrude was just shy of 2 years older than Thomas' oldest son Plase. There are differing stories that descendants of the oldest children given, such as, the children were sent to live with relatives; which are supported by geographical and census information. I am not sure what the complete stories are about the relationships of the older Smith children and Gertrude; I do know that she had a relationship with the youngest of the children Sidney Smith.

I first met my great grandmother when I was twelve in 1984. She lived in a very nice trailer in Canon City, Colorado. She had been widowed or divorced from her second husband Clarence, I think his last name was Smith too. Anyway, my grandmother collected Hummels. She had lots of them. She also liked to crotchet. I love that my grandmother was very independent. She had three children he first son Kenneth died at birth, my granmother Gertrude Louise Smith, and her last son Frank K. Smith. She was very proud of her children and my grandmother, although she complained about it loved taking care of my great grandmother from five trailers down. Gertrude lived by herself until just a few weeks before she passed away. I loved talking to her because she had lots of stories to tell, but she would also listen to my stories. She was willing to let you sit in silence too. She loved her children and she was pretty feisty. At her petite size and advanced age she would still let you know who was boss and when you were not being respectful. She did not make me it the oysters in the oyster soup, she would feed me. She always had a Boston Terrier dog. She was a lovely lady. I cherish the relationship I had with her. She died my freshman year of college, during finals week. but I remember going to visit her in the hospital and I remember her asking my grandma Trudy, her daughter, to pluck the hairs from her chin. At 19, I thought that was silly that this sickly little old lady would be worried about the hairs on her chin; now I don't think it is such a silly request. She is the reason I started doing genealogy research. I wanted to know who her family was and where we all come from and how we meshed together. She use to say to me, "You're the girl who doesn't drink or smoke, keep it that way, you are a nice girl." She died on 13 May 1991 in Canon City, Colorado and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver, Colorado.
Do you know my Great Grandmother, what stories does you family have of her, good or bad I'd love to hear or read them.