Memphis, Tennessee sits upon a bluff alongside the mighty Mississippi River as it flows southward toward the Louisiana Delta and the Gulf of Mexico. This river port city has long been defined by the flow of products such as cotton going to the industrial cities of the north or south to be shipped abroad where it was manufactured into clothing and linens. The melodious sounds of the blues echoed along the scenic riverbank.

It was in this city that a remarkable woman was born on April 4, 1935, an auspicious date, as we shall later see. Gertrude Foster, affectionately known as Trudy, was born not far from the river which has shaped her life. She was the only child of William Foster and Jessie Epps Foster. Her father, William, was born in Monroe, Louisiana and raised as a Catholic. When he settled in Memphis, he found work on a riverboat, work that kept him on the river for days at a time. William was very devout and faithfully practiced his religion when he was not working on the river. When he met the lovely Jessie Epps from Phil Campbell, Alabama, he fell in love and the two were soon married. Jessie was not a regular churchgoer but as a child sometimes attended the Church of Christ with her family. William insisted that any children they had together would be raised Catholic and Jessie readily agreed and promised she would.

With their first child on the way, their bright and promising future was tragically changed when Jessie received the heartbreaking news that her husband died on the riverboat from a massive heart attack at the age of twenty-nine. This left Jessie as a very young widow with an infant to raise alone. Jessie did her best to provide for her little girl. Mother and daughter formed an unbreakable bond as Trudy never had the chance to know her father.

Once Trudy reached school age, Jessie knew it was time to keep her promise to William to raise Trudy as a Catholic. With help from Sister Frances Eulalia (Sister Eula Blandford), Jessie enrolled Trudy in Holy Names School in North Memphis and entrusted her religious education to the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Trudy was instructed in the faith; was later baptized and made her First Communion on the same day. Trudy is still a little embarrassed to admit that part of her conversion was because she wanted to wear a veil like the other girls for First Communion. By the time Trudy was ready for the sacrament of Confirmation, her mother decided to become a Catholic too, and was given instructions by the pastor. Mother and daughter were confirmed on the same day.

Trudy attended Holy Names School for all twelve years. She remembers with fondness many of the Sisters who made such a strong impression on her young life. She speaks highly of Sister Barbara Thomas, her fifth grade teacher and Sister Virginia Louise Stocker, her sixth grade teacher. She remembers the trauma of having her eighth grade teacher, Sister Charles Augustine Reilly, die during the school year.

As a teenager Trudy often visited her friend’s home where several friends gathered on the front porch on warm evenings. Sometimes a tall, lanky youth would come along with his guitar strumming and singing in a deep voice. Her friend’s father would complain about the noise and tell the youth to take his guitar and leave. Thus, Elvis Presley was virtually “thrown off” the porch. Little did they know that the future rock star would make Memphis famous and millions would pay to hear him sing.

Trudy was the recipient of special awards winning an essay contest for the Diocese of Nashville which presented her with a trophy and a check for $25.00

The Annals of the Holy Names Convent proudly recorded another award in May of 1953:

“We were happy to hear today that Gertrude Foster, a senior, was awarded a $200.00 Sears Scholarship. Gertrude won over the contestants of four other Catholic High Schools for girls.”

A later entry records on May 26, 1953:

“Thirteen girls were given high school diplomas at 8:00 this evening. Father Jordan Schel, OFM gave a very inspiring sermon.”

Trudy was a very good student and was chosen as the valedictorian of her high school class. This honor made her mother very proud and brought the added benefit of a scholarship to Nazareth College given by the Sisters to capable students from the schools where the SCNs taught.

Harvietta “Harvi” Engelhart, Trudy Foster, and Pearl Edwards enjoying their days at Nazareth College in Fall 1953

In the fall of 1953, Trudy moved to the Nazareth campus near Bardstown, Kentucky, where she began her studies at Nazareth College. She remembers those two years with fondness as she enjoyed her studies and thought the college was wonderful. She remembers with affection Sister Catherine Spalding Green (later Sister Isabel), Dean of the College, and Sister Margaret Gertrude Murphy, President. She found the teachers to be very good and made many friends among the students. Two special friends were Marian Martin and Mary Mattingly.

Trudy reminisces about an adventure where she and several other girls walked to Bardstown one evening to see a movie. There they met senior boys from the high school at St. Joseph. One of the boys wrote to Trudy, which got her into trouble with the Sisters for communicating with a boy.

Another instance she recalls was when she, along with her classmates, went to Louisville to see a movie. One of the girls in her class was a Lakota Indian, the daughter of a chief on one of the reservations. The movie theater refused to admit this girl because of her dark skin tone and dark hair. The girls all agreed that if she could not go in, they would not go in. So, none of them saw the movie that night.

After two years, Trudy completed her studies and received her Associate Degree in Liberal Arts. With diploma in hand, she proudly marched down the aisle to the tune of: “Return fair girls to friends and home for love will hail your glad return.”

Several of the Nazareth girls felt the call to religious life and chose to enter the novitiate at Nazareth after graduation. Trudy also wanted to be a nun and was attracted to the Poor Clare Sisters in Memphis. She and her mother visited the cloistered monastery where they met with the Abbess and her assistant who were behind the grill and hidden by a curtain. The Abbess drew the curtain aside so they could visit with Trudy and her mother face to face. This was a great honor. Trudy’s mother, a convert, was very upset about the whole experience and cried fearing that she would never see the beautiful face of her only child again.

Trudy’s mother was relieved and happy when Trudy decided to enter the novitiate with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth instead of the Poor Clare Sisters. Perhaps this was God’s way of preparing Jessie for the separation necessary for Trudy to follow her dream. Sister Ellen Jane Dullea helped Trudy with the preparations and clothing she would need as a postulant. Trudy traveled to Louisville by train, then took the Greyhound Bus to Nazareth, entering the novitiate of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth on September 8, 1955.

Sister Trudy Foster as a postulant with the members of her entrance class

As a postulant, Trudy continued her college education and adjusted to life in the convent which meant hours of prayer, work and lessons in community living. Constitution Class was an important part of the day where the history and charism of the Sisters was imparted to the neophytes by Sister Mora Rose Marks, Postulant Mistress. Trudy also learned that “recreation” meant sitting in the Community Room crocheting handkerchiefs and Sacred Heart badges.

Each day ended with sacred silence and an early bedtime which was necessary as each morning the postulants were awakened by the rising bell at ten minutes to five and heard the chant: “Benedicamus Domino” followed by “Deo gracias.”

After ten months Trudy was received into the novitiate on July 18, 1956, receiving a new name and the blue habit of a novice. She had to get used to the stiffness of the white cap and collar and the strangeness of being call “Sister Frances Gabriel.” Novices were encouraged to choose a name from one of the deceased Sisters, so many trips were made to the cemetery to select a suitable name. Trudy had requested Francis due to the influence of the Franciscan priests in her life in Memphis.

Enjoying a surprise luncheon of cake and ice cream prepared by novices in honor of the departure of Sister Helen Frances Sheeran, novice mistress, August 19, 1957

As a second-year novice, Trudy was assigned to work in the college library with Sister Catharine Ignatius Dodd, the librarian. Trudy had such a great love of books that Sister Ignatius would often complain that she spent more time reading than she did dusting.

Trudy says: “The best part of formation was the relationships I built with my peers in formation: Janice Campbell, Theresa Knabel, Marlene Lehmkuhl, Mary Frances Mayer, June Monaghan and many others.”

Trudy always seemed to know when to be serious and when to be playful, and was good at playing tricks on fellow novices. She would leave little surprises in study hall desks that would cause another novice to laugh. That came to haunt her when she left Nazareth for her first mission as her novice friends offered to help her pack her trunk.

After two years of novitiate, Trudy made her First Vows in St. Vincent Church on July 19, 1958. Her mother came from Memphis to be with her for this sacred ceremony and stayed for a short visit.

Soon after vows, Trudy was told where she would go for her first mission at St. Bridgid School in Louisville where she taught second grade. She reflects, “There I had the privilege to receive student teaching from Sister Joseph Bernard Finneran (later Sister Mary), one of the great primary teachers of reading in the community.”

While unpacking her trunk at the convent of St. Bridgid, Trudy discovered that her novice friends did indeed help her pack as she found feathers strewn throughout in honor of her angelic name. There were a few holy water bottles sprinkled in as well. They were a welcome sight in her new surroundings, and invoked many warm memories.

The following year Trudy was assigned to St. Mary School in Martin’s Ferry, Ohio, near the Ohio River. She stayed there in the “Valley” for three years where she taught sixth grade students.

Sisters in the Community Room at the convent in Martin’s Ferry, OH

Standing L-R: Sisters Paul (Bridget) Cottle, Rita Ann Willett, and Mary Rachel Rooks

Seated L-R: Sisters Margaret Alberta (Celeste) Reedy, Richard Maria (Peggy) Fowkes, Frances Gabriel (Trudy) Foster, and Ann Joachim (Louellyn) Russell

Moving farther east, Trudy found herself in Leonardtown, Maryland, where she lived at St. Mary’s Academy and taught seventh grade at the parish school, Father Andrew White, for four years.
That was followed by one year in Wollaston, Massachusetts, at St. Ann School with eighth graders.

Trudy happily returned to her home town of Memphis in 1967; there, she was appointed Superior and Principal at St. Anne School in the Highlands. A two-week summer workshop at Notre Dame prepared her for her role as the local Superior. In 1980 she completed her Master’s program and received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Spalding College in Louisville. Her time at St. Anne was not only filled with administrative duties and teaching eighth grade students, but she also had the opportunity to be a part of the Civil Rights Movement. The sanitation workers of Memphis were on strike to improve their working conditions. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to Memphis to give support to these workers leading the protest march while workers carried “I am a Man” signs and sang, “We shall overcome!” On April 3, at Mason Temple, Trudy had the privilege of hearing Dr. King deliver his, “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

Trudy remembers very clearly the night of 4, 1968, when she was celebrating her birthday at a special supper with her mother at St. Joseph Hospital in downtown Memphis where her mother served as dorm mother for student nurses. This was the same night that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was shot on the balcony at the Lorraine Motel at 6:05 p.m. He was brought to the emergency room at St. Joseph Hospital, and Trudy remembers the sirens and all the police who accompanied him. Dr. King sustained mortal wounds from the shooting. The city erupted with protests followed by violence. Fear reigned, but the SCNs, particularly Sister Diane Lammers, continued their support of the striking workers.

Sisters Barbara Spencer, Trudy Foster, Theresa Knabel, and Janice Campbell

During this time, Sister Frances Gabriel chose to return to her baptismal name and became known again as Sister Gertrude Foster, better known as Trudy. She was also asked to serve on the board of St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock. After serving a six-year term there, she served on other boards at Memorial Hospital, Chattanooga and Vincentian Collaborative System, in Pittsburgh.

Her next mission at Our Lady of Sorrows in Memphis was special to her heart. She stayed ten years at this school and parish in the blue collar Frayser neighborhood in North Memphis. It was here she acquired her four-footed friend, Snoopy, whom she loved dearly. She also became a life-long friend of Sister Joan Byrne, an Irish Sister of Mercy who lived with her in the convent. On April 2, 1980, her mother died at St. Francis Hospital. As an only child, this was a very painful loss for Trudy.

Silver Jubilarians of 1983 at the grave of their classmate, Sister Mary Agnes Maher, June 25, 1983

After leaving Frayser, Trudy taught one year at St. Louis School in East Memphis, then moved to a nearby parish at Holy Rosary School where she was principal for thirteen years. She was instrumental in getting the new school built. Trudy was well loved by students and the teaching staff as well as other staff of the school. She was able to enjoy the newly built facility as she remained as principal for thirteen years.

Sister Trudy Foster at the awards celebration when a National Catholic Education Association award for Best Parent Organization was presented to Holy Rosary Mothers Club, Toronto, Canada
L-R: Rosemary Batts, Debbie Hunt, Sister Trudy Foster, and Mimi Shwartz

Her next call was back to Our Lady of Sorrows School (OLS). The school was struggling to survive due to low enrollment caused by changing neighborhoods and business closures. To her delight, she encountered former students who now had their own children enrolled at Our Lady of Sorrows. Working together, they were successful in forming parent groups along with support from OLS alumni around the city. From their combined efforts, the school enrollment reached a high of 150 students. During those seven years, the emphasis on celebration of the Eucharist, by Reverend Richard Gantert, enriched the students, staff, and community to create the bright light of Resurrection to the Frayser area.

In 1999, the Diocese of Memphis formed the Jubilee Schools with a generous donation of several million dollars from an anonymous group of donors. It was a joint effort to provide quality education to children in disadvantaged areas. The resurrection of several once-closed Catholic schools was called the “Miracle in Memphis.” Trudy agreed to lead the Jubilee School at Little Flower where she served as principal for four years, rebuilding the academic program for children who otherwise could not afford a Catholic education.

Standing L-R: Sisters Grace Mary Whittaker, Elaine McCarron, and Trudy Foster
Seated: Sister Janice Campbell

In 2005, Trudy retired from the education ministry and moved into an apartment in mid-town Memphis with Sister Joan Byrne, RSM. She devoted her time to volunteering at St. Peter Villa with the retired seniors and at St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen, a ministry she continued for several years.

When Trudy was invited back to Nazareth to serve as Motherhouse Coordinator, she generously responded, serving one year in this capacity. Her gentle manner and compassionate heart endeared her to the retired Sisters at the Motherhouse.

2008 Golden Jubilarians
Back Row L-R: Sisters Carmelita Dunn, June Monaghan, Gracy Mary Whittaker, Martha Discher, Trudy Foster, and Marlene Lehmkuhl
Front Row L-R: Sisters Anna Marie Conklin, Anna Marie Canary, and Rose Riley

Once her year was completed, Trudy returned to Memphis and continued in her volunteer ministry at the Soup Kitchen and in parish ministry with Marriage Encounter and preparing children for the reception of the sacraments. Prior to leaving Memphis to return to Nazareth in June 2025, her ministry included serving as lector at daily Mass, as a member of Parish Council at Sacred Heart, and as co-chair of the Sister Thea Bowman Montessori school at St. Patrick Church.

Written by Sister Theresa Knabel

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