Genita N. Fadenrecht

Genita Nadine (Schuler) Fadenrecht, 86, passed away on June 9, 2023, after suffering several debilitating strokes in recent months.  Genita was born on her father’s birthday, July 12, 1936, in South Bend, WA, to Norman and Hilda (Koskela) Schuler and spent her childhood in Naselle, WA, graduating from Naselle High School in the class of 1954.  

At age 5, Genita lost her father when his navy ship was bombed off the coast of Darwin, Australia, in WWII.  In 1946, her mother remarried Urho Wirkkala and had four more children: Delbert, Charlene, Daryl and Dennis.  She grew very close to her new father and half-siblings and was dearly loved by her extended aunts, uncles and numerous cousins. 

After high school, she attended Seattle Pacific College, where she met her future husband, Virgil Fadenrecht of Salem.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958, focusing on music and elementary education.  In 1959, she and Virgil were married and they continued to live in Seattle where she taught third and fifth grade students for three years in the Shoreline School District until giving birth to their first child, Sheryl, in 1961.  In 1962, the family moved permanently to Salem where they welcomed a son, Doug, in 1963. 

When the children were older, she owned a health and beauty business which developed into a distributorship for a world-wide nutrition company which she then co-owned with Virgil until his death in 2012.  She continued to work with distributors until health issues forced her to officially retire in the last year. 

The family was active in Kingwood Bible Church and Genita taught Sunday School for many years and was the church organist for close to 40 years.  Genita was a strong woman of faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and exemplified a selfless, joyful, natural grace, which was evident to all who were blessed to know her.

Genita loved all sports as a participant and enthusiast.  She was an avid fan of all Oregon teams, but especially rooted for the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle Seahawks.  She loved every kind of card game and puzzle and was especially proficient at Scrabble and Anagrams, which she would play any chance she got with her grandchildren or anyone else, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning!

Genita is survived by her sister, Charlene Hodges, of Tucson, AZ; daughter, Sheryl (Eric) Lehmkuhl of San Diego, CA, along with their children: Carissa, Lauren and Ryan Lehmkuhl; son, Doug (Melissa) Fadenrecht of Salem, OR, and their children: Kayla (Salvador) Sanchez and Stephanie Fadenrecht; and great-grandson, Luca Sanchez.

A memorial service will be held at Kingwood Bible Church, 1125 Elm St NW, Salem, OR 97304, on July 15, 2023 at 1:00pm.