December 1, 1925 - January 3, 2023
Gisela Schneiderwinkle Hildebrand was born on December 1, 1925, in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
At the age of three, Gisela’s mother passed away and she was raised by an aunt and uncle. After her basic schooling, she went on to nurse’s training at a children’s hospital in Berlin, Germany, graduating in 1947.
While training to be a nurse, she had numerous stories to tell of her experiences throughout the war and trying to get back and forth to her family in Czechoslovakia. Her favorite story was: late one night while working at the Children’s hospital, she and another student timidly answered a knock at the door. To their surprise, they found American soldiers with their arms full of food and treats for the children. Because of the war, she had not seen that much food for years!
After the war, she moved to Frankfurt, Germany where she was reunited with longtime friend Walter Hildebrand, who was working for the American Forces as a comptroller at the Army base.
Walter and Gisela were married October 2, 1947, and daughter Christl soon joined them in 1949.
One day, while traveling on the train to work, Walter met Bill Diss, an American soldier and soon discovered they worked at the same base. The two families became close friends. Walter and Gisela even became godparents to their daughter, Mary Martha who was born in Germany. Little did both families know that this would be a life changing friendship for Walter and Gisela.
When the Disses were moving back to America, they encouraged Walter and Gisela to think about moving to Colorado. Bill Diss and his parents sponsored the Hildebrand family so they could immigrate to the USA.
They landed in New York harbor on October 31, 1955, after a harrowing ocean voyage passing through a hurricane. After being processed, they were met by old friends from Germany and spent the night with them.
On the way to their friend’s New York apartment in the taxi, Walter and Gisela were surprised to see people dressed in costumes and soaping windows. They didn’t know it was Halloween! Early the next morning, they were put on a train to Wray, CO. They arrived in the wee hours on a cold dreary November morning. Gisela recalls her first glimpse of Wray, was seeing the old run-down buildings by the train depot. She turned to Walter and told him she wanted to get back on the train and go back to Germany. They were met by the Eleanor and Bill Diss Sr. who then helped them get settled in Wray.
Walter, who spoke English, started a job at the National Bank in Wray. Gisela and Christl, who only spoke German, learned their English by working every Saturday with Mrs. Bailey, Christl’s first grade teacher. Daughter Barbara, born in 1958, completed the family. Gisela studied hard and was proud to become a US citizen on March 22, 1961.
Through her lifetime in Wray, Gisela was a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church and Altar society, and taught Bible History and Catechism for many years. She was a member and former president of the Las Viente Club.
Gisela was incredibly talented. She was an avid seamstress and made many clothes for herself and the girls. She loved quilting and made quilts for all her grandkids. She knitted, crocheted, and crafted late into her life. She loved decorating little pumpkins every fall and giving them to her family and friends. Those same decorations from the pumpkin tops, saved by her daughters, were used to decorate the pumpkins that were put out on the table for their 60th Wedding Anniversary dinner.
She also decorated many wedding and birthday cakes for her family and people around the community.
She loved working in her large vegetable and flower garden, proudly winning the garden of the year award.
Walter and Gisela belonged to a Pinochle group which met monthly for many years. She was always an avid card player and even learned a new game in her late eighties. She taught her care givers at Hillcrest the game and they enjoyed playing with her.
Walter and Gisela loved to travel and made several trips back to Germany to see relatives. One special trip was going to Czechoslovakia to see her cousins, who she hadn’t seen in years.
One of her greatest joys were the times she spent with her 5 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren.
Gisela and Walter were married almost 70 years when he passed away in 2017. They always felt blessed to be in Wray, as the community opened their arms and made them feel welcome.
They were proud American citizens and made sure they celebrated the anniversary of their arrival in Wray every year on November 1st.
Gisela is survived by her daughters, Christl (Keith) Bales and Barbara Westerman; grandchildren, Brian Bales, Michael (Heather) Bales, Laura (Adam) Moore, Robert Westerman, and Emily (Josh) Crossley; great-grandchildren, Chase Bales, McKena Bales, Liam Moore, Lily Moore, and Lincoln Crossley; as well as many relatives in Europe.
A Rosary will be held on Thursday, January 12, 2023, 7:00 p.m. at the St. Andrew Catholic Church in Wray, Colorado. A Memorial service will be held on Friday, January 13, 2023, 10:00 a.m. at the St. Andrew Catholic Church in Wray, Colorado with Father Felicien Ilunga Mbala officiating. Memorials may be made to Hillcrest Care Center or the St. Andrew Catholic Church. Schmidt-Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
