Gertrude Richards Russell died peacefully and surrounded by family at her home in West Tisbury on Nov. 18. She was 89.
Trudy was born in New York City on March 25, 1934, She grew up in Englewood, N.J. and moved with her family to Saddle River, N.J. during World War II. She told stories of her family taking in a menagerie of animals from neighbors who had gone overseas to fight. That thread of helping others by providing shelter and care is woven throughout her life.
She attended the Dwight School for Girls and Wellesley College. After graduating with a bachelor of arts in history, she married Isaac Russell, who was soon to be partner at the law firm of Day, Berry and Howard. They settled in West Hartford, Conn., where they lived for 27 years.
During her years in Hartford, Trudy fought for civil rights and protested against nuclear weapons; advocated for affordable housing for all and, in particular, pregnant teens; sang in the chorus of the Hartford Opera; and could be found most Saturdays, rain or shine, supporting one child or another at a game, concert, or play.
While raising three active children she earned a masters degree in psychiatric social work from the University of Hartford and found rewarding work in schools as a counselor for troubled teens and their families.
In 1985, Isaac and Trudy decided to make a big change and left for an exciting 10-year adventure in the foreign service, with postings in Zimbabwe, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia and Kenya. In her own words just recently, “it was an exciting life.”
In 1995, Trudy and Isaac retired to Martha’s Vineyard — to the land they affectionately called Swampside. Trudy loved her meadow and spent a great deal of time sculpting it into a work of art. She loved the wetlands between the meadow and the brook, and the birds that fed on berries deep in the thicket. She even enjoyed the wild turkeys that stole seed from the songbirds.
She enjoyed being part of the Vineyard community and quickly made friends, singing in the choir at Grace Church and Island Community Chorus. She was a voracious reader, always ready with a recommendation or critique, and a keen Scrabble player who beat her children and grandchildren regularly, without mercy or pity.
She had a special talent for writing poems, plays, stories and odes for any occasion. She was thrilled to have one of her plays performed at the Martha’s Vineyard Playhouse, and the picture she chose for her obituary shows her beaming in the theater. The subject of her stories ranged from a poignant encounter with a man on a street corner in Addis Ababa to the misadventures of a bunny named Ten who is befriended by a small black dog and three curious children.
She will be most remembered, though, for her letters, handwritten or hammered out on a manual typewriter, to friends and family all over the world, keeping those connections strong throughout the decades. All who received letters from Trudy know what gifts they were.
With her kindness, grace, and wit, she was the bright North star for so many people of all generations, “a beacon of unpretentious love” as one of her friends described her. She will be deeply missed.
She leaves her husband, Isaac Russell of West Tisbury; her son Henry Russell of Greenwich, U.K. and his partner Rachel Lethbridge; her daughter Julia Russell of West Roxbury and her wife Karen Duff; and her daughter Abigail Russell Prior of West Concord and her husband Mark Russell Prior. She and Isaac loved their six grandchildren and one great-grandson, and they loved her back.
She also leaves her three sisters, Ida Chamberlin, Ann Ward and Connie Michelsen, as well as numerous admiring nieces and nephews.
A service will be held on Jan. 6 at Grace Church in Vineyard Haven at 10:30 a.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to Grace Church Missions, Island Community Chorus, or VNA Cape Cod Hospice.
