Gerlinde Allmendinger (nee Leukert)
September 15, 1940 – May 11, 2025
Fortified with the Sacraments of Holy Mother Church.
Beloved wife of the late Otto Allmendinger; loving mother of Susie Allmendinger, Otto K. (Tracy) Allmendinger, and Rosie (Jonathan) Adams. Adored Oma of Joshua Adams, Andrea Adams, Jackie Adams, Daniel Curtis and Uroma to Ryland Curtis. The middle of seven children, she is survived by her younger sisters Irma (the late Lou) Eder and Erika (Gary) Allen. She is preceded in death by her siblings Elsa (Bill) Trivundza, Waltraud (Joe) Pfeifer, Helmut (Janet) Leukert, and Gerold (Rosa) Leukert. Daughter of the late Heinrich and Elisabeth Leukert, she is survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and friends.
Gerlinde was born in Sudetenland, Germany, during the early years of World War II. At the age of five, her family was forced from their homeland by the Czechoslovakian government and were, for the lack of a better word, refugees. With only what they could carry, they moved to a town of many refugees in Moernsheim, Germany. Part of that experience included shared living quarters with other families, bunk beds three high, an outhouse, being recipients of Red Cross donation boxes, and dragging buckets of water up three flights of stairs for baths (a chore shared with her brother Helmut).
At 15 years old, and with the help of Catholic Services, she traveled with her family across the Atlantic on a US troop transport ship. It was a long and horrible crossing experience that tainted her forever against cruises. They settled in St. Louis where the younger siblings went to school while the older siblings worked. However, her parents fibbed about her age in order to get her employment, so she could also contribute toward the household. She ended up working as a live-in maid for a prominent St. Louis family instead of being enrolled in high school. One of her biggest regrets was that she never got to attend high school.
She eventually met and married Otto, worked in a dental office, was a stay-at-home mom, in home babysitter, and eventually spent 20 years as a top sales associate for Famous Barr/Macy’s. When her children were school-aged, she was an active member of St. Michael the Archangel’s Mothers’ Club. In the 1990’s, she proudly became a United States Citizen. Shortly after her retirement from Macy’s, she entered a new era of her life as an Oma and committed extensive time to helping with her grandchildren and creating an extraordinary bond with them.
She taught her children the meaning of hard work, dedication, responsibility, family, and love. Everyone who met her loved her. She was a phenomenal cook, an expert baker, a talented artist, and a genuinely nice person who adored her grandchildren and grand-dogs. At the beginning of 2024, she suffered a significant stroke. Yet, in one of her many examples of strength and determination, she persevered and proved she could live on her own again. After blessing her family with another 15 months of her presence, she was finally called to her eternal home.
Visitation at Kutis Funeral Home on Friday, May 16, 2025, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM (10151 Gravois Rd, Saint Louis, MO 63123).
Funeral Mass Saturday, May 17, 2025, at 9:00 AM at Saint Michael the Archangel Church in Shrewsbury (7622 Sutherland Ave., Shrewsbury, MO 63119).
Interment Resurrection Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Michael the Archangel Church in Shrewsbury.
I met Mrs. A when I was 14 and had befriended Susie through school. Throughout the next 40+ years, she was always warm and welcoming to me. I remember celebrating her birthday during Covid with a drive-thru party: she was so happy and waving at everyone. Karen