Nortrud Adelinda DePorter
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On Valentine's Day, February 14, 2021, Nortrud Adelinda DePorter, beloved wife and mother of three children, left this earth at the age of 85 to join her life-long love and mate in heaven.
Nortrud was born and raised in the small seaside resort town of Zopport, Germany, on the Baltic Sea. She was four years old at the outbreak of World War II, and nine years old when the war ended. In the final days of the war, she and her family were evacuated by sea to escape the approaching Russian Army. She lived the remainder of her childhood during the post-war depression in the small German town of Brunsbuttel, downstream from Hamburg on the Elbe River and the shore of the North Sea. Post-World War II occupation of Germany by American Military forces brought a handsome young, "G. I." from Oakdale, Tennessee, eager to learn German, especially from a beautiful young German maiden. It was love at first sight and a love that never faded for the following 65 years. Nortrud had a bold and adventurous spirit and was willing to leave her mother and father, her three sisters, and her native homeland to marry the man from across the sea, who would become the love of her life and the father of her three children. She moved across the ocean and across the world from what was familiar to her and embraced the American life. Like her husband, she, too, learned to speak a second language fluently. Not only did she adapt to American culture, she became a military wife, picking up and moving every two or three years for twenty years, always supportive of her husband's career and the mighty U.S. military that freed her country from the reign of terror. Nortrud and Elden wasted no time is starting a family. Their first child, Rosita, was born while they were still in Germany. Thomas was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and Heidi was born in San Antonio, Texas. Nortrud made sure they each learned to speak German fluently and were familiar with the German customs and traditions she grew up with. Nortrud found connection with fellow Germans and other international women in the military community. Initially, they were a support to her in her new world, but eventually she took on a leadership role in supporting other women new to America. More than any other identity, Nortrud saw herself as an artist. Self-taught, she experimented with many forms of art, but finally came into her own with Watercolor Painting. She received numerous awards for her paintings, her favorites being of the natural beauty of East Tennessee. To this day, her paintings decorate numerous homes and businesses in Knoxville. When her own children began having children, Nortrud became the "Oma" of the family, believing she could love her grandchildren even more than their own parents. Nortrud was fun-loving and caring. She sparked life-long friendships wherever she went and to this day has hundreds of dear friends all over the world.
Nortrud was preceded in death by her loving husband, Elden, her mother and father, Frieda and Curt Staude, and her three sisters, Ina, Ingrid and Rosa. She is survived by her three children, Rosita (David) Echols, Thomas (Julie) DePorter, Heidi (Dan) Woodby, and her grandchildren, Matt and Andrew Echols, and Cheyenne and Shane Woodby. A Memorial service will be offered at Faith Lutheran Church on Saturday, February 20, at 3:00 PM, at 225 Jamestowne Blvd, Knoxville, Tennessee. The service will be streamed live on the church FaceBook page at facebook.com/faithlutheranknoxville.