Gertrude Genevieve White

Gertrude was born in Newark, New Jersey to Margaret and Frank Crawford on November 13, 1921 and was predeceased by her beloved husband, Arthur Byrd White, in 1984. She was also predeceased by her sister, Margaret Wenzel, and her brother, Robert Crawford.

Gertrude was a “Jersey girl,” raised in Maplewood, NJ. She graduated from Columbia High School in South Orange, NJ in 1938. She met her husband, an Illinois native, on a blind date when he was serving with the signal corps during WWII stationed with the US Army in Brigantine, NJ. Arthur and Gertrude married a year later and, in the years following Arthur’s return from the European Theater, raised four children in Millburn, NJ. After raising her family, she returned to work as a legal secretary to two law firms and served as a judicial secretary in the Union County (NJ) Courthouse. Gertrude moved to Basking Ridge, NJ in 1987, where she enjoyed twenty years of retirement before relocating to Towson, MD, Bethlehem, PA and finally Eastham, Massachusetts in 2009.

Gertrude’s strong Catholic faith has always been at the center of her life. She volunteered at her parish, St. Rose of Lima, (Short Hills, NJ) and tutored disadvantaged children at St. Ann’s parish in Newark. She was a Eucharistic minister at St. Barnabas and Morristown Memorial Hospitals. Her fidelity to Mass attendance was curtailed by two strokes in her eighties but she continued to receive the Eucharist at home.

Gertrude was proudest of being a homemaker, wife and mother and was always there to reach out to others and lend a listening ear to family and friends. She made friends easily and kept and cherished them. She was a loyal New York Yankee fan and a staunch Democrat. She loved the Jersey Shore. Gertrude came to love Cape Cod during her annual visits each year to Eastham with her family. She adored her grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews and dear friends. Her joy and laughter were contagious. She was an elegant and gracious hostess.

Gertrude is survived by two sons and two daughters: Arthur White and his wife Maria of Bethlehem, PA, Margaret Verdi and her husband James of Eastham, MA, George White and his wife, Nancy of Salisbury, NC, and Frances White of Red Lion, PA;. She is also survived by her 9 beloved grandchildren: G. Joseph White, Catherine White, John Verdi and his wife Kerry, Emily White, Genevieve Tubbs and her husband Holland, Pauline Meeusen and her husband Karl, Anne Cheatham, Rosemary Gerdon and her husband Aren, and Robert Cheatham and his wife, Kristin. She also leaves four beloved great grandchildren: Jacob Clark, Joseph Clark, Sydney Verdi, and Cameron Verdi. In addition, Gertrude leaves many loved nieces and nephews. A Mass of the Resurrection will be held at 11:00 am on October 9, 2012 at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Chatham, MA. Gertrude’s body will be buried next to her beloved husband at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, NJ on October 10, 2012 at 1:00 pm.

In lieu of flowers please remember Gertrude by gifting the Activities Department at Broad Reach Care at Liberty Commons, 390 Orleans Rd, North Chatham, MA