Rudi Adolf Messerschmidt

Rudi A. Messerschmidt

On February 25, 2020, Rudi A. Messerschmidt, husband, father, opa and great grandfather, passed away peacefully at the ripe age of 97. Born in Jakarta, Indonesia, he served in the Dutch army during WWII. This included time in a Japanese POW camp, a traumatic experience which left an impact. After the war, while serving in the Dutch Coast Guard, in 1949 he met and married his wife, Ella.

In 1958, the family migrated by ship to the Netherlands. The family subsequently immigrated to the US in 1960, arriving with another ship (Rudi loved the ocean) in New York. Sponsored by the First United Methodist Church of Oroville, many parishioners became like our second family. After a phenomenal trip from New York to California across plains, mountains and grandeur in the Zephyr train, the American adventure began.

His first jobs in the US were a janitor, a laborer at the cannery and a gardener. A few months later, he started working at PG&E and stayed there until his retirement as a Starting Engineer 25 years later.

Rudi loved fishing, camping, golf, dancing, playing bridge and conversations. His gentle humor and easy laugh were appreciated by friends and family. And soon, the Messerschmidt home became known as a place to hang out with many parties large and small.

Rudi is preceded in death by his wife, Ella. He is survived by 3 children: Roland, Olav and Christl (Yates), 13 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and his sister, Yvonne Anakotta.

Because the church has meant so much to our family, in lieu of flowers, please consider sending donations to the First United Methodist Church of Oroville at 45 Acacia Ave, Oroville, CA 95966.

A Celebration of Life is planned for Friday, April 10, 2020 at 2 pm at the First United Methodist Church if Oroville

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