Elizabeth Nussbaum Obituary

Elizabeth Marie Gulde Nussbaum was born October 17, 1926 in Canon City, Colorado. She was the oldest of six children born to John Fidelis and Philippina Marie Rosine Lutz Gulde. Shortly after her birth, Elizabeth moved to Amarillo, Texas with her family. It would be her home until the day of her death on June 16, 2017.

At the age of 16, Elizabeth graduated from St. Mary's Academy and travelled to Atchison, Kansas, where she majored in music (piano and organ) and chemistry at Mount St. Scholastica College. She esteemed the Benedictine nuns who taught her, and she credited Sister Helen - who took Elizabeth to address a national Confraternity of Christian Doctrine gathering in Boston Gardens - with giving her the confidence to speak in public. Elizabeth considered a Benedictine vocation until she returned home for summer vacation in 1946.

That's when Elizabeth went to a Catholic Youth Club meeting and got re-acquainted with her first grade classmate, Leonard John Nussbaum, who was home from the war. They fell in love. Leonard came to the Mount and proposed there on May 10, 1947, the day of Elizabeth's senior prom. They danced that night under a crepe paper canopy. Leonard wore a boutonniere. Elizabeth wore a long gown. They celebrated the beginning of what would be their 60 years together.

Elizabeth and Leonard married on October 2, 1947 and six boys soon followed, the oldest in 1948 and the youngest in 1961. Elizabeth's hands were never idle. At their parish, St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Elizabeth served as the organist and liturgist. In the years following the Second Vatican Council, she was a member of the first Liturgy Commission for the Diocese of Amarillo. At home, no one remembers her sitting down. She sewed the boys' sailor suits and their Christmas stockings. She tailored drapes for the windows. She monitored piano practice in the living room from her place at the stove, where she cooked three meals a day. She hosted family parties and business dinners and wedding and baby showers. She knitted, crocheted and embroidered. She gardened. She made ceramics. She painted, both in oils and watercolors. And, always, always, she helped Leonard as he started and ran his business, A to Z Tire and Battery.

Elizabeth remembered those years, when the boys were small and she was never done with laundry, as the happiest of her life.

As she and Leonard grew older, they travelled to Nairobi and Tokyo and Jerusalem. They flew to Paris on the Concorde. They longed to see every part of the world beyond the Texas Panhandle, but Amarillo was always their home, and here, in the last years of Leonard's life, Elizabeth was his faithful caregiver, guardian and companion.

When Elizabeth sold the home she and Leonard built together she moved into an apartment in the Park Place Towers. The family would like to thank the staff for their kindness and care. A special thanks goes to Dalila Jerezano, Elizabeth's faithful caregiver for many years.

Elizabeth was preceded in death by her husband, her parents, her brothers, Joseph Francis Gulde, Charles James Gulde ,and Robert Emmett Gulde, and her parent in-laws, Martin and Christine Nussbaum. She is survived by her brother, John Clement Gulde (Libby) and her sister, Margaret Mary Rettenmaier (Donald), her sister and brother-in-law, Lucille and Larry Wilhelm, her brother-in-law, Marvin Nussbaum, her sisters-in-law, Joan Gulde and Becky Gulde, and her six sons: Michael John (Joyce), Stephen Patrick (Carmelita), Leonard Martin (Melissa), Ralph Edward (Dona), Gregory Lawrence (Patty) and Philip Alan (Kristy.) She is survived by 18 grandchildren: Michael (Judy) Nussbaum, Natalie Nussbaum, Alexis Nussbaum, Jessica (Leslie Krongold) Nussbaum, Rebecca (Larry Dillon) Nussbaum, Benjamin (Laura) Nussbaum, Simon (Gretchen) Nussbaum, Abraham (Elin) Nussbaum, Elisabeth (Corey) Almond, Mary Margaret (Nico) Alvarado, Anna (Geoffrey) Keating, Andrew (Sally) Nussbaum, Matthew (Shana) Nussbaum, Monica (Karl) Meyer, Rachael Nussbaum, John Nussbaum, William (Robyn) Nussbaum, Beth Ann (Xavier) Candelaria and 24 (25 in September) great-grandchildren. Many nieces and nephews also survive to cherish her memory.

The rosary will be held at Schooler Funeral Home on Friday, June 23, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Mary's Cathedral in Amarillo on Saturday, June 24, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia, Amarillo, Texas 79110.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Elizabeth's name to Catholic Charities of the Texas Panhandle, attention: Jeff Gulde, Executive Director.