Gertrude M Hanley

Trudy was the second oldest of five children and grew up on Long Island, New York, in Baldwin and later East Meadow. She attained her undergraduate degree from Hofstra College before pursuing her medical degree at Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, where she was one of just four women in a class of 90 aspiring physicians.

After returning to Long Island, Trudy opened a pediatric practice in Garden City and was affiliated with Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, where she met her first husband, Dr. William "Bill" Murphy. They married in 1974 and made their home in Hingham, Massachusetts. Trudy continued her medical career as a pediatrician at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton rising to the position of Clinical Director of Pediatrics. During her time at the school, Trudy mentored Nurse Practitioner and Medical students as an Assistant Clinical Professor with Tufts and Boston University medical schools. It was at the Mass Hospital school where Trudy found great fulfillment in caring for children with neuro-orthopedic conditions. She was a gifted diagnostician, known for her intelligence, compassion, and genuine dedication to her young patients.

When Bill died in 1987, she continued with her career as well as devoting herself to her church, volunteer work, music, photography, family, and summers at her beloved cottage in Humarock. In 2009, at age 79, she married her longtime friend, Charles S. Hanley Jr. ("Chuck"), following a brief online romance, and embarked on another new chapter, moving from Massachusetts to the Chicago area. They settled in Hinsdale, IL, where they enjoyed traveling, golfing, dancing, music, wintering in Fort Meyers, FL, and time with family. Annual trips back East brought opportunities to visit her sisters, brother, nieces, nephews, and their families. Some summers even brought both her East Coast and Chicago families together at Humarock. They later joined the retirement community Villa St. Benedict in Lisle, IL where they enjoyed making new dear friends. After Chuck's passing in January 2025, Trudy returned to Massachusetts in April and became a resident of Grove Manor in Braintree.

Trudy had a wonderful personality, sometimes full of delightful contradictions. She was soft-spoken yet strong-willed, gracious yet feisty. Cheerful, loving, and generous, she had a natural ability to fit in wherever life took her. She was also poetic and artistic, a side that shone through with the personal touches she added to the birthday and holiday cards sent to family and friends. Each featured her own colored-pencil sketch and sometimes a little poem, making every card a special gift. Trudy was also an avid photographer. Her preferred subjects were wildlife, landscapes, and people. She would go to great lengths to capture family and friends just being themselves.

Music was a lifelong passion and a constant thread throughout Trudy’s life. Growing up, she and her siblings sang and played various instruments. This tradition continued into adulthood, as the growing families gathered for various occasions, often accompanied by Trudy on the violin or piano. While living in Weymouth, Trudy played violin with the Southeastern Philharmonic Orchestra. Her voice remained strong and on key well into her nineties. She also sang with a senior chorus that served the southeastern Massachusetts region. In Chicago, Sunday dinners

often ended with a car ride home filled with singing from the backseat by Trudy, Chuck, and his sister Gertie, with Trudy invariably providing the best voice.

Trudy loved a good joke and was always eager to share one, although she often forgot the punchline or got it backwards. Undeterred, she always had another joke to tell on another day, with another forgotten punchline!

Seemingly mild-mannered, Trudy had an adventurous and determined spirit that stayed with her throughout her life. Whether beginning a new chapter at 79, heading to the beach at 3 AM with family to watch a meteor shower, or returning to the RMV the very next day after failing her driver's license test, only to retake it and pass it at age 94. She rarely backed down from a challenge. As an aspiring doctor her remarkable confidence in her medical abilities extended to the family chickens. After stitching up an injured hen, she was rewarded when the chicken laid an egg right in her lap. Trudy's thrilled response was, "See! She thanked me!"

Above all, Trudy's life was guided by her deep Catholic faith in God, devotion to family, and commitment to caring for others. She was a source of strength, a loyal friend, and an inspiration to her nieces and nephews through her faith, compassion, music, creativity, sense of style, and zest for life. She had a special affection for dogs, a keen interest in birdwatching and generously supported causes close to her heart, including Friends of the Unborn, an organization she supported for many years.

Trudy leaves behind a lifetime of memories, laughter, music, kindness, and love. She will be remembered not only for the many lives she touched through her medical career and generosity, but also for the wonderful, spirited, and unmistakably unique person she was.

She is survived by her sisters, Mary Jeanne Hickey of Weymouth, Massachusetts, and Sr. Maureen Hurley, a Daughter of Wisdom, of Sound Beach, New York; her sister-in-law, Janine Hurley of Oyster Bay, New York; and her brother-in-law, Richard Euben of East Norwich, New York. She was predeceased by her brother, Frank Hurley III, and her sister, Barbara Hurley.

She also leaves eight nieces and nephews: Regina (Kevin) Barnett of Eagle, Idaho; Mark (Patty) Hickey of Weymouth; Herbert Hickey of Hingham; Chuck (Sarah) Hickey of Halifax; George (Bette) Hickey of Weymouth; Frank E. (Kathy) Hurley IV of Sterling, Virginia; Christiane (John Callaghan) Zoller of Lloyd Harbor, New York; and Alexandra (Scott Pittal) Hurley of Oyster Bay, New York. She is also survived by eight grandnieces and grandnephews and one great-grandnephew.

Trudy is further survived by her stepchildren, Kay (Ken) Zilka, Patty (Tom) Heatherly, Charlie Hanley, Michael Landers, Katie (Patrick) Day, Maura Landers, and Tracy (Tim) Farmer, as well as their children.

Visiting hours will be held at Sullivan Funeral Home located at 45 E Water St, Rockland, MA 02370 on Thursday, November 5th, from 4–7 PM. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Albert the Great located at 1140 Washington St, Weymouth, MA 02189 on Friday, November 6th, at 12 PM. Interment will take place at a later date at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Chicago, IL.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of the Unborn maternity shelter home at friendsoftheunborn.org , an organization Trudy supported for many years.