Dyck, Gertrude Katie (1917-1942)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1942 May 14 p. 4

Birth date: 1917 Sep 26

text of obituary:

Gertrude K. Dyck

Gertrude Katie Dyck, daughter of Rev. and Mrs. H. J. Dyck was born at Elbing, Kansas, on September 26, 1917.

Having enjoyed the privileges of a Christian home she made her decision to accept Jesus Christ as her personal Saviour. On June 11, 1933, she was baptized upon the confession of her faith by her father, and became a member of the Zion Mennonite church. She became active in Sunday School and Christian Endeavor work.

Feeling a desire to consecrate her life in service for her Lord she began her high school training at the Tabor Academy, graduating from the Whitewater high school. After a year at Bethel College she was accepted for nurses training by the Bethel Deaconess Hospital School of Nursing.

After a little more than a year her training was interrupted by an attack of pneumonia and a period of convalescence, during which time it became evident that tuberculosis was developing. She was taken home for a period of rest. After eight months she entered the Mennonite Sanatorium at La Junta, Colorado. At times her condition seemed to be improving but not permanently.

About a month ago she was advised to have an operation at the Glockner Sanatorium, at Colorado Springs, Colorado. On April 17 a thoracoplasty was performed. Within a week her general condition became serious. She departed this life on Monday, May 4, 9:15 a.m., leaving her parents, one sister, Dorothea, of the home, one brother, Rev. and Mrs. Walter H. Dyck and family of Beatrice, Nebraska, as well as relatives and friends. She attained the age of 24 years, 7 months, and 8 days.

We are assured that as the gardener plucks the half-opened rose to shield its enfolding beauty from the wind and storm, so our Lord has severed earthly bonds that in the presence of her Lord she may bloom in eternal splendor.

We will remember her by her cheerful disposition, having a smile for all who came to her bedside, her steadfast faith, and a desire to perfect patience in service and suffering. Among favorite precious promises marked in her new Bible are the words of her Lord, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not" (Luke 22:32), and "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Heb. 13:5).

She has summarized for herself experiences of resignation in a number of poems, one of which she penned during the summer of 1941, entitled:

His Will

I chose to be a sturdy oak — a tall and stately tree,
To stand beside a river bed, with branches straight and free.

I chose to be of service to each stranger day by day,
And point the way to God and Heav'n to choose who came my way.

I thought my shadow was a place where weary folks might lie
And rest, while in the heat of day parched souls succumb and die.

That in the rain and cold at night my leaves might well provide
A shelter for each passer-by — a place for him to hide.

'Twas not until my trunk was cut, (my life seemed scarce begun)
I realized I wasn't right, and said, "Thy will be done."

But after days and days of rest and praying to the Lord,
Two workmen came with saw and plane to make of me — a board.

I lay and suffering while each stroke cut deep into my soul,
And then was set into a room beyond my own control.

The product was an easy chair, — not beautiful, — just plain,
But just the piece of furniture that corner should contain.

And in that room, to my delight, was perfect harmony.
I found that being in God's will was all he asked of me.

Officiating at the funeral services at the Zion Mennonite church on Thursday afternoon, May 7, were Rev. J. E. Entz, Rev. A. E. Kreider, and Rev. A. A. Schmidt. Pall bearers were Arthur J. Dyck, John H. Dyck, John P. Janzen, Paul Kuhlmann, Paul G. Regier, and Irvin Schmidt.

Interment was made in the Zion Mennonite cemetery.