Gertrude 'Trudi' Ann Fullenkamp Feaster

Our beautiful and loving Trudi passed away at home with her family at her side, Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013 after a hard fought battle with Pancreatic Cancer. She is survived by her husband of 38-1/2 years, Mike, her three children, R. Bradley of Castle Rock, CO; Ashley Elizabeth (Shawn) Lemon of Highlands Ranch, CO; Leah Michelle (Brian) Smith, Castle Rock, CO and her three grandchildren, Kailey Ann, Deven Alexander and Braeden Michael Smith. Also surviving are her brothers and sisters: Carl (Penny) Fullenkamp of Tucson, Arizona; Len (Mary Kaye) Fullenkamp of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania; Dan (Jean) Fullenkamp of Silver Springs, Maryland; Albert (Sue) Fullenkamp and Tessie (Bob) Christian of Kettering, Ohio; Luke (Sue) and Jim (Ruth) Fullenkamp of Minster, Ohio; John (Kate) and Phil (Peg) Fullenkamp and Trina (Jim) Schwieterman of St. Henry, Ohio; and Kay (Jim) Reagan of Hilliard, Ohio. Preceding her in death are a sister, Mary Lou Fullenkamp, Stepmother, Zita V. Fullenkamp of St. Henry, Ohio and her in-laws, Richard Moore and Helen Warner Feaster of Elkins, West Virginia. Gertrude Ann Fullenkamp Feaster, ""Trudi"" was born at 8:21 p.m. on June 23, 1951 in the Lady of Mercy Hospital, Coldwater, Mercer County, Ohio to Louis John and Bernadette Elizabeth Post Fullenkamp who are deceased. Trudi grew up in Saint Henry, Ohio as the sixth child of the eventual thirteen children in the family. She attended Saint Henry Catholic Church and school and Saint Henry public schools graduating from high school in 1969. She went on to Dayton to attend Saint Elizabeth Medical Center School of Nursing graduating with her nursing degree in 1972 and entering the United States Air Force Nurse Corps in July 1972. Her first duty assignment was Nellis Air Force Base, North Las Vegas, Nevada on the Medical Surgical Nursing Unit. While at Nellis, Trudi discovered her nursing forte was Labor and Delivery and Maternal Child Nursing. She went on to specialize in this area for the remainder of her almost 40 year nursing career. Trudi completed her active duty Air Force commitment and entered the Air Force Reserves attaining the rank of Captain. Also while at Nellis, Trudi met and later married William Michael Feaster, ""Mike"" on July 26th, 1974 in the Saint Henry Catholic Church. While as a civilian nurse in Las Vegas, she was on the ground floor and one of the lead nurses in the development of the second, for the nation at that time, Neonatal Intensive Care Units at Sunrise Medical Center, Las Vegas. She assisted in the development of neonatal nursing standards that are currently in play throughout the nation. Trudi went on to follow Mike's Air Force career by moving to the Dayton, Ohio area in 1977 where they settled in Beavercreek Township and she resumed working at her alma mater, Saint Elizabeth Medical Center in their Labor and Delivery Unit. Trudi over the years gave birth to three children, all three born at Saint Elizabeth Medical Center. This was a special time because she could be so close to family. Bradley was the first in April 1978 followed by Ashley Elizabeth in March 1980 and Leah Michelle in October 1981. Trudi, Mike and family traveled to West Germany in the spring of 1986 to a little known German Air Base just outside of Koln where Mike was assigned as an Independent Duty Medical Technician. Unable to work in the local economy as a registered nurse, she proudly volunteered as a Teacher's Aid at the local Department of Defense Dependants School in Norvenich, West Germany. Her children loved her ""normal hours"" during such an important phase of their lives. She made them such strong students with the desire to learn and of adventure. In addition, she volunteered to advise expectant mothers on all matters of Maternal Child Health and Labor and Delivery since the only approved hospital for their deliveries was 60 miles away in the Netherlands. Since the American contingent on the German Air Base was a small one, close friendships and a true family community was fostered through Trudi's efforts to help expectant mothers. In the fall of 1990, Trudi and family moved from Germany to Omaha, Nebraska where Mike was assigned as Superintendent, Maternal Child Health at Offutt, AFB. She was eager to return to her Labor & Delivery passion. Trudi continued her Labor & Delivery career first at Bergan Mercy Medical Center in downtown Omaha and later at Ehrling Bergquist Hospital, Offutt Air Force Base once Mike became Superintendent, Family Practice Residency Program. With the close of the Maternal Child Health Unit in May 2005, Trudi was selected to be the first civilian registered nurse to work with and in the 55th Aerospace Medicine Clinic in support of the various flying missions. She received many awards for her exceptional service to pilots and their families. Trudi ended this career in April 2011 when she moved to Colorado to be closer to her children and grandchildren. Trudi volunteered for a number of years with Teddy Bear Hollow, an organization that helps the bereavement of children and adults who lose a parent or child. She was very passionate about this because she lost her mom as a teenager and witnessed the affects of this loss on her younger siblings. Trudi began working for as a Patient Transfer Coordinator and later as a visiting Labor & Delivery nurse in support of Colorado's rural community hospitals until her diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer in June 2012. Trudi, so passionate about family and caring for others, she lived for her children and grandchildren and was intensely proud of them and often remarked how much joy they brought her! She will be remembered for her beautiful smile, nurturing demeanor and dry wit. She has left a great impression upon her children and grandchildren and her legacy will live on through them! She was a Godly woman of great faith who lived her life honestly with great love, integrity, compassion and caring for others, especially babies and children. Trudi will forever be remembered as a loving gracious mother and wife who loved life and her family so deeply and ALWAYS put them before herself! The Mass of Christian Burial will be held Friday, February 1st, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. MST at Saint Mark Catholic Church, 9905 Foothills Canyon Boulevard, Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80129, and telephone (720) 348-9700. Fr. John Auer, Pastor of Saint Mark Catholic Church, is officiating. A catered reception will follow in the church basement following the mass. The ""Gertrude Feaster Memorial Fund"" has been established to support the family with her extensive medical expenses. Donations are much appreciated and can be made by check payable to her fund or in person at any national Wells Fargo branch. Cards and condolences can be sent to 10161 Mountain Maple Drive, Highlands Ranch, Colorado 80129 Please share your memories of Trudi and condolences with her family by signing the Guestbook.