Gertrude Florence Smith

in her sleep at the age of 97 on January 28th, 2022.

Gerry is survived by her daughter, Marilyn Trumbo, son-in-law, Neale Smith, her granddaughter,

Beth Goodridge, and her great-grandson, Brandon Goodridge.

Gerry was born in Alameda, California on October 11, 1924 to Florence and Arthur Ross.

Growing up, she had an interest in music. As a teenager, Gerry wanted to learn how to play the

clarinet. As fate would have it, her parents hired a young man who lived down the street to

teach her how to play the clarinet. That neighbor boy was named Earl Smith. Gerry often

described him as a tough teacher, but over the years, interest between them grew and several

years later they were married on November 17th, 1943. She would often joke that she got

even with Earl for being such a strict teacher by marrying him. Shortly after they were married,

Earl was drafted to the Army to fight in WWII. Their only child, Marilyn Smith was born in 1945.

Earl and Gerry moved to Modesto in 1957. While living in Modesto, Gerry and Earl joined

Geneva Presbyterian Church and were members there for 65 years. Gerry worked as a

supervisor in the credit department at Sears.

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, Gerry, Earl and Marilyn spent most of their summers in Yosemite

exploring the hiking trails and climbing peaks such as Yosemite Falls and Glacier Point and

backpacking through the high Sierras. In 1970, Gerry and Earl bought a ranch in Bozeman,

Montana and would spend summers enjoying horseback riding and they even built a large barn

on the property.

Gerry was always up for an adventure. In addition to yearly trips to their ranch in Montana, they

loved to visit Pinecrest Lake, Death Valley, Reno, Yosemite, and the Grand Tetons in Wyoming,

just to name a few. Throughout the 1980’s Gerry and Earl went on more than 9 cruises to a

variety of destinations, including Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, and even out in the Atlantic

Ocean to witness the raising of a large section of the Titanic in 1996 along with the Discovery

Channel and celebrities such as Buzz Aldrin and Loni Anderson.

One accomplishment Gerry was most proud of was her work as a volunteer for Doctor’s

Hospital in Modesto for more than 15 years. During her time as a volunteer she knitted

hundreds of baby caps for the newborns and she especially enjoyed working in the emergency

department because she liked the excitement.

In her retirement, she kept active working out in the gym, swimming and learning to play tennis

from local Pro Fred Earl. She loved to spend time in her garden and especially loved to spend

time with her great-grandson, Brandon. Her house was the center of the family and she

wouldn’t have had it any other way. Her family will always remember her a dedicated and

loving mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who made the best apple pies. She was

kind, soft-spoken and had a wonderful sense of humor and was so very proud of her family.

Gerry will be greatly missed.