Gertrude Blanche Jones Kazlauskas

Gertrude Blanche Jones Kazlauskas ("Trudie") departed this life early on 28 March 2016, age 86.

Trudie was born in White Plains, NY, 4 January 1930, daughter of Alfred Wilmot Jones, Jr. & Blanche Liviness Jones. She was brought up by her father and paternal grandparents. Grandfather, Alfred Wilmot Jones was a Welsh immigrant who became a printer-etcher with his own Greenwich Village studio that served printing needs of many New York City artists. Her father was a skilled stone mason/carpenter in Westchester County. When Trudie was 12 Depression and war had made homeownership too difficult. The family moved to a 14th Street apartment near the studio. She arrived in the heart of urban artistic activity and graduated from Washington Irving High School as an art major.

During those years and later, attending secretarial school, evening classes at The Art Students' League, and working several jobs for such companies as Fairchild Publications she made friends with many lively people who made contributions to painting, sculpture, poetry, dance, theater, puppeteering, travel writing. Around 1950 in Old Lyme Colony artist Robert Brackman's League class she met Connecticut artist Adolph Kazlauskas. They married in 1955. She also studied with Jon Corbino and several other noted American artists.

Soon after daughter Anne was born in 1956 the family moved from Brooklyn to a quiet, partially wooded hillside near Richford, NY. She and Adolph long had dreamed of building their own house and working quietly in natural surroundings, suited to contemplation. They designed a studio-house and she took care of Anne while Adolph worked locally and built a 3 room house. When Anne went to school she found work at Cornell University while Adolph resumed painting in earnest, managed the woodlot, added bed and storage rooms to the house.

After a brief job, Trudie settled down for 29 years (retired 1992) in Cornell's Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace School, Upson Hall. She worked for many fine professors and saw through various organizational changes. She was one of many support staff who contributed greatly to the fine atmosphere and smooth running of the department, valued for her helpfulness, attention to detail, especially as such programs as the Lunar Rover Project attracted increasing attention, conference activity, etc.

After her daughter joined St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, Slaterville Springs, Trudie found another home away from home. Encouraged by her parents' interests Anne had taken up music and gardening, adding to her skills by choir singing, later serving as organist. Trudie joined in activities, made another group of fast friends, and contributed until just recently to liturgical work, fundraising, the Caroline Food Pantry.

During all this time old friends and artwork were not forgotten. For years friends received hand designed, printed Christmas cards. Trudie occasionally fulfilled local design and portrait commissions, always inspired other artists by work and conversation, worked diligently on several exhibits of his work after Adolph's 2005 death. Simply by example, the everyday life and conversation of both parents, Anne learned about the values of light, colour, texture that she uses in garden work, ways of appreciating all human and non-human life that we need to live more fully in this world. She was inspired by daily musical encouragement, by weekly walks through Cornell's gardens, camping and painting trips, the treasuring of all friends, old and new. Trudie's friends treasure and look up to her in turn, remember her for her warm visits, generous sharing of interests, faithful, quiet work, the sure, steady eye and advice to make a garden more balanced and colourful. Her Christmas cards have won a new audience, printed as official designs for the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, a national organization.

Trudie is survived by daughter Anne Kazlauskas (Arlington, MA), niece and nephews by marriage Ronald Salerno (Newington, CT), Kathryn Griffin (Fair Oaks, CA), Albert Salerno (Framingham, MA), and their children. She also served as godmother to Patricia Wood Kinney (Moravia, NY), the eldest of one of her best friends.

The family is so thankful to many friends, caring, competent, hard working people who helped in so many ways during Trudie's final years - her St. Thomas' family, her devoted helpers Christina, Chris, many emergency workers, the staff and volunteers of Longview, the wonderful, quiet work of Hospicare Ithaca, those who have so enthusiastically taken up her art advocacy work. We appreciate all of you.

We will celebrate Trudie with a memorial, 11 June 2016, 3pm at St. Thomas' Episcopal Church, route 79, Slaterville Springs - a service followed by remembrances, refreshments, photos, artwork. You may make memorial donations to The Finger Lakes Land Trust, St. Thomas' Church (Slaterville Springs), Ballet Guild of Ithaca, Metropolitan Opera Broadcast Fund (NYC), or to an organization appropriate to your choice.