Gertrud “Trudy” Mauk was born in the afternoon of October 8, 1934, at home in Munich, Germany, the youngest of 4 children.
She had several green thumbs and a love for gardening that started at a very early age, born out of necessity during the WWII when there was no food available. Gertrud came to the United States at age 26 with one suitcase and $500 with the intent of staying for a year…a few years later she became a citizen of the United States of America. Her earliest job in the U. S. was that of Au Pair, she worked for several families before getting a job as a cashier for Mannings and worked in the Standard Oil (Chevron) building on Market Street in Downtown San Francisco for 22 years. This is where she became known as Trudy, an ‘easier’ version of her name. She had worked 7 days a week for 7 years, working extra jobs on the weekends to save money for her car.
In 1966 Gertrud bought her first car, a green Volkswagen Beetle and paid for it in cash and had already saved the first 2 years of insurance money. In the spring of 1968 at a German dance in Oakland she met Theodor Mauk, an immigrant from Stuttgart, Germany. After a brief courtship they became engaged in the fall and married at city hall in December and “properly” on January 19, 1969 at St. Paulus Lutheran Church in San Francisco.
Almost 2 years later Gertrud gave birth to their only child, a daughter Michelle. The family moved to Burlingame in August of 1974. Gertrud continued to work in San Francisco until her husband became too ill and needed her attention in February 1988. After his passing in April, she took over the duties of managing their property and all that came along with that.
In April of 2017 Gertrud was clinically diagnosed with Alzheimers and could no longer live alone as she had for many years. She was relocated to Austin, Texas to be near her daughter and son-in-law, Todd Gentner, who cared for her very well. Her favorite duty was that of Oma for her grand-dog, Gracie Belle, taking her for walks and giving lots of treats. Gertrud resided in a Memory Care Community and was at first very active and assisted with some gardening and in an advisory role as overseer, as she was accustomed. She transitioned to her eternal home very peacefully in the wee hours of the morning of January 26, 2022. Gertrud will always be remembered for her incredible work ethic, the way she could turn a leaf into a tree, the attentions paid to every dog on Burlingame Avenue (or anywhere she saw them) and how she loved to ride her bicycle (she will always be known as the “bike lady” of Burlingame).
Gertrud leaves behind her loving son-in-law and daughter, a sister, several nieces and nephews and countless friends.
Friends are invited to a visitation from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 11, and a Celebration of Life Service at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, February 12, 2022, at the CROSBY - N. GRAY & CO. Funeral Home, 2 Park Road, Burlingame, followed by a procession to Skylawn Memorial Park for interment, and a reception lunch in Millbrae.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.