Truusje Schell

Truusje Schenkelaars Schell was born on August 5, 1934, in Eindhoven, Netherlands. She died on March 30, 2023, at the age of 88 in Thayne, Wyoming, where she and her husband had moved after their retirement to be close to the beautiful mountains.

Truusje’s first encounter with the United States was as a very young girl during the American soldiers’ liberation of Eindhoven during World War II. Air raid sirens were going off, and Truusje’s mother was trying to get herself and her children to the bomb shelter when the soldiers noticed them and helped her with the children.  One of the soldiers picked up Truusje and carried her to shelter, where she sat in his lap while they were all in the bomb shelter.  Throughout her life, she vividly remembered the event and the soldier who was so kind to her and her mother.  

In the late 1950s, Truusje immigrated to Canada and then to the United States, ultimately winding up in Houston, Texas, where she lived for over 40 years.  In Houston, she raised two sons to be loving and wonderful men, who had the same strong sense of determination that Truusje did.  She married Floyd Schell on June 6, 1972.

A woman of style, Truusje was a licensed esthetician who shared her gifts with many women over the years.  She always loved the outdoors and especially enjoyed winter sports, including ice skating as a young girl in the Netherlands.  Later in life, she learned and excelled at snow skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling.  She was also an avid lover of all types of music.  However, her favorite activity was spending time with her family and friends, and she was well known for her sense of flair in entertaining her guests.

Truusje is preceded in death by her father and mother, Hendricus and Maria Van de Wiel Schenkelaars; her four brothers, Gerardus Schenkelaars, Adolphus Schenkelaars, Josephus Schenkelaars, and Hendricus Schenkelaars; and four sisters, Maria Sliepen, Wilhelmina Breeko,  Sibilla van Houten, and Francisa LaFarre, She will be greatly missed by her faithful husband, Floyd Schell; two sons and their wives, Jeff and Iwana Rademaekers of Amarillo, Texas, and Michael and Amy Rademaekers of Double Oak, Texas; and her grandchildren, Anastasia Brooking and husband Douglas, Amanda Rademaekers, Eli Rademaekers, and Mae Rademaekers.

A private celebration of Truusje’s life will be held at a later date. To honor Truusje’s memory, live today as Trussje always advised, “Enjoy every moment!  Proost!!”