Published: July 24, 2008 03:12 pm         

Anna G. W. Palm

April 6, 1925 — July 18, 2008



Anna Gertrude (Trudie) Wahl Palm, 83, passed away July 18, 2008. A memorial service was held July 23 at Christ Lutheran Church in Fairfield Glade, with the Rev. Jerry Weeks officiating and assisted by the Rev. Jack Seville of the Pleasant Hill Community Church.



Mrs. Palm was born April 6, 1925, the third of the four children of the Rev. Carl Benjamin Wahl and his wife, Elisabeth Schempp Wahl.



The family was living in the Kweichow province of China where her parents were serving as Christian missionaries sponsored by the Evangelical Association. Her father was an American serving under an American Board while her mother had been sponsored by the Evangelischen Gemeinschaft in her native Germany. Her parents had met and married in China.



The family spent some time in Germany when banditry and political turmoil surfaced in China. During one evacuation, Trudie's father died in 1934 when she was only 9. The family then spent a year in the United States until the decision was made that the two older children, John and Margaret, would remain in the U.S. at school and Trudie and her younger sister, Helen, would accompany their mother back to China. During the following years, some education was obtained from tutors and home schooling. Since her mother was employed, Trudie and Helen then began a good experience as students at the American School in Kikungshan. As the Japanese invasion of China deepened, the school evacuated to Hong Kong and there were many good experienced. In 1941, the school closed and the student body returned to the U.S.



It was a long journey as the ship zigzagged for many weeks to cross the Pacific and escape enemy submarines. In San Francisco, many of the children were taken by relatives while Trudie and Helen were part of a small group of 12 who attended Luther Academy in Wahoo, NE. Later there was a year in Minneapolis. In 1943, Trudie enrolled at North Central College and graduated in 1947. She served as an elementary teacher in Batavia, IL, for several years and also began graduate work at Northwestern University.



On July 20, 1951, Trudie was united in marriage with the Rev. Howard Palm, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Sandwich, IL. Trudie often served as an elementary teacher, specifically interested in the primary age.



The ministry of Pastor Palm took then from a decade in a mission congregation to churches in Peoria, IL, Augustana Church in Hobart, IN and St. Luke Church in Park Ridge, IL. For several years, Trudie's husband also served on the staff of Lutheran Social Service. In the early years of their marriage, the couple became the parents of three sons, David, Daniel and Philip.



Trudie had a special interest in art and music. Through a series of contacts, she became interested in pottery making. She soon developed a unique design and glaze application for pottery pieces she had created on the wheel. This, in effect, became her trademark.



Trudie also found international travel particularly interesting. The Palms traveled together to Aegean Sea coastal lands, Germany, Sweden and Russia, together with four trips to China and Taiwan.



Early in the 1980s, her husband developed serious vision loss. During the time of rehabilitation, the Palms began looking for a site for their retirement home. Their choice was Uplands in Tennessee where they have lived for the past 21 years. They are members of Christ Lutheran Church and are also associate members of the Pleasant Hill Community Church, UCCT. Trudie was an ardent reader and thoroughly enjoyed a book club which met regularly to share their thoughts on recent publications. She was a capable knitter and had created countless lovely pieces of apparel for adults and children. Her love of reading bought her into responsible duty in church libraries when her husband was serving a parish and more recently Pleasant Hill.



One of her special goals was the editing and publishing of the letter her parents had written to relatives in Germany and the U.S. while they were serving in China. This goal was met in 2004 with the publication of the book, Dear Home Folks.



Trudie enjoyed good health through the years and was a committed walker and on the go early each morning. Her final illness was relatively brief. She entered the hospital on July 14 and her life ended at an early hour on Saturday, July 18, at the age of 83.



Her family consists of her husband, Howard; sons, Dr. Daniel Palm and wife Chenner of Rancho Cucamonga, CA and Philip Palm of Colorado Springs, CO; grandchildren, Ivan Palm of Colorado, SPC Chris Palm who is presently serving with the Army in Iraq, Natalie Palm and Natasha Palm of Colorado and Emma Palm of California; sister, Margaret Vogel of Pleasant Hill and Helen Spears and husband John of Stronghurst, IL; several nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends.



In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her son, David; brother, Dr. John Wahl and wife Martha Stacey Wahl; and brother-in-law, Dr. Norman Vogel.



Memorial gifts honoring the memory of Trudie Palm may be directed to one of the following causes:



Vision Project for Wharton Home, PO Box 168, Pleasant Hill, TN 38578



North Central College, 30 N. Brainard St., Naperville, IL 60566-7063



Lutheran Social Services of Illinois, 1001 E. Touhy Ave., Ste. 50, Des Plaines, IL 60018



Hood Funeral Home and Crematory, LLC (www.hoodfuneralhome.com) was in charge of the arrangements.