Erna Emilie Gajdos

peacefully in Decatur, Alabama on March 1, 2024.

As a child, Erna delivered local newspapers from door to door by bicycle. Erna worked in a candy factory in Mannheim, Germany from the time she was a young teenager until she met and married the love of her life, Joe Gajdos. Joe and Erna met at a corner coffee shop in Mannheim on a Friday. Joe was with military friends and Erna was with her sister and friends; it took two Fridays for Joe to come over to her

table. Erna hid Joe from her family for 3 months, because he was an American Soldier. Joe bought a book on German to English translation and taught himself German. It was then that Erna brought Joe home to meet her family. By then, Joe could speak and sing in German fluently.

Joe proposed to Erna in the family dining room, after dinner, in front of her family. They married, Joe received orders to move to the United States a few years later, and the couple left Germany for the United States. Erna verbally tested and became a Naturalized American Citizen while the couple was stationed in Aberdeen, Maryland. Erna verbally tested after she first failed the written test, due to written

translation challenges. Erna immediately retested verbally, and passed. While in the United States, Erna graduated from the Scranton, Pennsylvania International Correspondence School in Practical Accounting.

Joe and Erna settled in Huntsville, Alabama, where Erna worked at, and retired from JCPenney after 30 years.

Erna loved her Joe and her church. She loved to dance and cook and entertain. Erna had a sharp

sense of humor and a contagious laugh. She loved her best friends Rose-Marie and Margo, and

her family in Germany. She loved her dogs, Woofie, Laird, Huskey, and Candy, and her pet

skunk Charlie.

Erna’s unwavering strength and brilliant light impacted all who met her. Erna will be eternally loved and greatly missed. All who knew her, know Erna is happy to be together again with her Joe. Tremendous thanks to River City Center for how they loved and cared for Erna.

A Graveside Service will be held on Friday, March 8, 2024 at 1pm at Valhalla Memory Gardens in the Garden of Gethsemane.