Gertrude Speck
Miss Gertrude Speck, 94, of Owensville, died at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug 19, 1987 at the Elmhurst Extended Care Center in Elmhurst, Ill., where she had been a patient for the last five and
one-half years.
She
was born Jan. 12, 1893, in Owensville.
Miss Speck was a supervisor of music in the Owensville School for 45 years. She
was a graduate of The American Conservatory of Chicago in Public School Music; from Indianapolis
Conservatory in Piano; from Cincinnati Conservatory in violin. She had a B.S. from Evansville University; Masters from Northwestern University and attended Stetson University in Florida and U.S.C. She
was a recipient of three music scholarships.
Her
first piano teacher was her mother, Laura King Speck. Later teachers were Louis Schrieber
of Evansville and Arnold Krause of Los Angeles. Violin Teachers included Johnn
Mierch of Cincinnati, Ohio, Ludwig Becker, George Dasch
and Carl Becker of Chicago. She also
studied the organ with Dr. Max Krone of Chicago.
She played in various symphony orchestras in Florida, California
and Indiana. Music was her
life. In the Evansville Courier after a
concert in which she had been the featured soloist, a writer commented: “Her music is always outstanding and the
music life of the entire community has been stimulated by her untiring efforts.”
She was the oldest member of the Owensville Chapter of
Eastern Star with 73 years of service and many of those years as organist.
She was a member of the United Methodist Church and Delta Kappa Gamma.
She donated her music collection before her death to the University of Southern Indiana.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Rudolph and Laura
(King) Speck, and a sister, Marie Strickland on Dec. 19, 1984.
Surviving is a niece, Valeska Najera of Elmhurst, Ill.
Funeral services were held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holder Funeral Home, with Rev. James
Powell officiating. Burial was in Oak Hill Cemetery in Evansville.
Memorial services were conducted by the Order of the
Eastern Star at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.