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Toderescu Family

Gordon Ginder

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The Toderescu family stopped by the Village Library at the 2002 Burgoo to say hello to Louise Schroeder.

Shown in the photo at the right are Stela, Petru, Edward and Norel.

The family has several special connections in Arenzville, which all started in 2000 when Theresa Schroeder visited the Romanian village of Jdioara as part of a mission to build an orphanage.

At that time, Norel (lower right in this photo) was in need of medical care which had been unsuccessfully attempted in Romania. Petru asked for Schroeder's help, and she responded by making inquires at Passavant Hospital, where she works.

Drs. Fox and Schulz, surgeons at Passavant, agreed to help, and special medical visas were arranged for the family.

In December 2000, Norel, Petru and Stela (who was 7 months pregnant) arrived in the U.S.

Sandra Acree, also a Passavant employee, volunteered to provide lodging at her home. Many local organizations assisted by providing the family with needed commodities. These included the Midwest Christian Center in Jacksonville, the Way Home Church in Chapin and the Arenzville Methodist Church.

In February 2001, the couple's second son was born, and out of gratitude for the help of the two women, Schroeder and Acree, his parents named him Edward William, after their late husbands -- William Acree, who died one year before his namesake was born, and Edward Schroeder, whom Arenzville residents will remember with great fondness.

The family was able to extend their visa on a temporary basis when Stela, a special education teacher (also a nurse), was granted a 3-year work permit. Today the Toderescus live in Missouri, and they keep in touch with their friends and "families" in the Arenzville area.

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© 2023 Molly Daniel

This page last modified: 08/25/2023