Gertrude E. "Trudy" Duffy

Trudy was born to Charles M. Wolfe and Gladys E. Lee, on December 22, 1933, in Paonia, Colorado. She had two older brothers, Gordon and Bill. Two years later, she got a baby sister, Wilba “Sue” Etta Marie. Her childhood was spent in Colorado, Alaska, California and Oregon. When Trudy was three years old, her mother died. At that point she became responsible for her younger sister.

At sixteen, her stepmother arranged her marriage to Charles “Chick” A. Duffy. Although he was much older, he was good to her. He provided her with a stable home in Elgin, Oregon. A small house of her own, which he added onto several times per her requests. Chick passed away in 1982. Trudy lived in their home for 72 years, until May 2022 when she entered Memory Care in La Grande for Alzheimer’s. In June 2024, she moved to Sunset Villa Memory Care in Ontario, Oregon, where she passed peacefully on May 23, 2025.

When her nephew was born in 1955, sister Sue was working in the fields to help support her family, so Trudy took on the responsibility of caring for him. About a year and a half later, she and Chick adopted Sherry Lynn as an infant from the Reservation of the Confederate Tribes of the Umatilla, in Mission, Oregon. Trudy cared for her grandchildren, Jamie and Erin, when they were little while Sherry did her basic training and military schools.

Trudy was always a hard worker. She took great pride in caring for her home, husband, daughter, and others that she knew needed help. She did a variety of jobs, then took a position at a local veterinarian’s office as a dog groomer and assistant. After several years, she opened her own dog grooming studio at her home, which she ran until the end of 2021. During her working years, she was also a custodian and a bus driver for the Elgin School District.

Trudy was a member of the Elgin Nazarene Church for many decades. She did the church books and sang. In her mid-eighties, she began attending Trinity Baptist Church, in La Grande, Oregon. She loved the Fourth of July, always putting on a little fireworks show for her neighborhood. For many years she volunteered with Meals on Wheels in Elgin. Trudy enjoyed many crafts, painting, quilting and working in her yard. She was an avid reader. She loved grooming dogs, and enjoyed her cats.

Early in her marriage she made a lifelong friend, Olga Grant. Over the years they became like sisters, sharing their lives as they raised their children and explored the world. They went on a number of trips together and remained close until Olga passed in 2021.

Trudy was preceded in death by her parents, husband, brothers and sister. She is survived by daughter Sherry Lynn Martin, granddaughter Erin Dillard, grandson Jamie Jacks, numerous nieces and nephews, and other family and friends.

A memorial service will take place on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at the Trinity Baptist Church, 2705 Gekeler Lane, La Grande, Oregon. A potluck lunch will start at 12:30, with the service to follow at 1:30.

Memorial donations can be made to the following two charities:

OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, 700 SW Campus Drive, Portland, Oregon 97239.

Shriner’s Children’s Hospital, 3101 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, Oregon 97239