Friday, April 17, 2020
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Trudy was my friend for almost 35 years. I want Gary, Jon and Shannon, Matt and Gina, and all of Trudy’s family on the east coast to know that we here in California loved her very much, treasured her as a wonderful friend, and will miss her terribly,
When she and Gary put Jonathan and Matthew into the grammar school at St. Cyprian in Sunnyvale, Trudy and I formed a bond with several other mothers. There were 5 or 6 of us, including a teacher… Trudy called us ‘the ladies’. “Hi ladies… what games shall we make for the festival this year?” or “Shall we meet for lunch, ladies?” We all worked together on the annual Fall Festival for the school. Later, we attended the Bellarmine High School Mothers’ Club annual fashion shows together, or the St. Francis High School ‘Christmas-at-Our-House’ home tours. After our children grew up, it was lunch together at Max’s, or Maggiano’s, or dessert and drinks at Mary’s house.
She was always friendly, upbeat, optimistic, and smart. I pulled my car off the road many times to sit and talk with Trudy on my little ‘flip’ phone until the battery ran down.
When I hear The Three Tenors, or the music from Braveheart, or look around my home, I am reminded of Trudy and my friends. I only need to decorate my Christmas tree and see the ornaments that Trudy gave me, or grab a bud vase from Barbara, or an Italian serving bowl from Peggy, or see Mary’s book… But it’s not only the objects themselves. My friends are there. Trudy is there. Thanks, Trudy! ~ Joan Niemeier
Photo by Barbara Radigan, of Trudy on a tour with us in the Capitol Building, Washington DC, in 2009.
“A good friend is a connection to life – a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity is a totally insane world.” – Lois Wyse
