- Date Of Birth: February 28, 1914
- Date Of Death: January 12, 2021
- State: Texas
Gertrude was born to Carl August and Mathilda Teichelmann Mickan in Walburg, Texas February 28, 1914. She moved to Copperas Cove, Texas the next month when her father opened a blacksmith shop there. She was baptized at home during this time when she became ill it was thought unlikely that she would survive to be baptized in church. She attended Copperas Cove schools.
She married Herman G. Weiss in the German Methodist Church in Copperas Cove on December 28, 1932. They began their married life on the family farm near Copperas Cove but were among the many families displaced when Camp Hood expanded in 1943 and so moved to a farm near Holland. They were the parents of two children Frances Lee and Robert “Bob” Weiss.
Gertrude was an active member of the United Methodist Church in Holland and of the United Methodist Women. She was a long-time member of the Holland Women’s Study Club and participated in the Holland Senior Citizens’ organization. She served for eighteen years as an election judge in Holland. She also worked for a number of years in retail sales in downtown Temple.
She was a deliberate life-long learner, continuing her education by reading and studying a wide range of topics. As an adult, she learned to play the organ and was a member of an organ club. She expanded her interest in art to learn about painting in oils, a project she continued till well past the century mark. For several years, she presented book reviews in area women’s clubs. She learned to ride a bicycle when her children were given bicycles to use as transportation to and from school. In 2014, she was honored as a Yellow Rose of Texas by Governor Rick Perry.
She and Herman expanded their knowledge of family history and the history of Texas through impromptu day trips and weekend jaunts to all parts of the state, especially while their children were still at home. While their daughter lived in Illinois, trips to visit her family were planned to include exploration of states not previously visited en route. They continued to travel after their retirement. Scenes from these trips later became the subject of many of Gertrude’s paintings.
Gertrude was taught self-sufficiency at an early age and it served her well. With the help of her children and the kindness of the Holland Community, she was able to live independently in her home past the age of 105. Thereafter she received compassionate care at Canyon Creek Memory Care in Temple.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Herman on October 8, 1992 and by her son Bob, on November 14, 2019. Also preceding her were her parents, her sister, Alma Barber, her brother Emil Mickan and great-great grandson, Dawson Lewis.
She is survived by her daughter Frances Lee of Temple, and her daughter-in-law, Shirley Weiss of Cambridge, MD. Survivors also include seven grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, eleven great-great grandchildren and one great-great-great-grandchild.
