Updated: 4:00 PM EDT May 12, 2021
A former first lady of Greenville has died. Trude Heller was 98 years old. Trude was the wife of Max Heller, who was mayor from 1971 to 1979.According to her obituary, Trude Heller was born on June 19, 1922, in Vienna, Austria. She was forced as a teenager to flee Austria during the Holocaust."After a harrowing escape and what she referred to as "many miracles," she came to the United States in 1940 and 2 years later married her beloved Max whom she had known in Vienna," the obituary said.The two were married in 1942 in downtown Greenville and had three children. (Video above is her talking to students) She served on the boards of several agencies in the Upstate, including the Greenville Symphony Guild, Metropolitan Arts Council and Greenville Hospital Guild. For her service to South Carolina, she was honored with the 'Order of the Palmetto.' She was an honorary member of Omicron Delta Kappa.She was also conferred with an honorary degree of doctor of humanities from Furman University.Max Heller joined the Furman Board of Trustees after he retired. In 2002, the Collegiate Educational Service Corps was renamed the Max and Trude Heller Service Corps in recognition of the couple’s decades of commitment to the organization.Max Heller died in 2011."She loved to say, 'When you call into an echo, so the echo calls back. If you call with kindness and love, kindness and love will come back to you.' Trude will be forever cherished in the many lives of those she touched," the obituary said.Trude will be remembered in a private graveside service. A public memorial will be announced at a later date. If you wish to contact family members, the email is Friendsoftrude@gmail.com.