I will always feel a special connection to Trudy because we share the same Birthday--December 3, 1950. In 6th grade, we were so excited on our Birthday that we talked all through class and had to stay in at recess and write sentences about how we would not talk in class! Trudy had the most beautiful long blonde hair with cascading curls. I thought she was the cutest girl at Glasgow School. We were especially good friends through Junior High.
Both Randy Mardis, Trudy's brother, and Frank Miller, Trudy's husband, told me that she lived life with zest. She loved being outdoors. She was athletic and loved playing softball. In 1996, she earned her pilot’s license and flew small planes. Trudy took up woodworking in the last 10 years of her life, learning how to use a variety of woodworking tools. I was lucky to see Trudy in January of 2009 and visit with her for about an hour. She told me then that she had cancer--a disease she fought for the last 5 years of her life. Even so, she looked wonderful and was in high spirits. At her wake, three of her personal effects were displayed--her green "Shady Ladies" softball jacket, her Rawlings softball glove with a well worn pocket (containing a barely visible "Shady Lady" insignia) and a scuffed softball resting in the pocket of her glove. Rest in peace Beautiful Birthday Buddy….

Trudy lived across the street from us prior to our transfering to the south Pacific. She was such fun to be friends with and we played together a lot. She was full of life and a joy to know. Her smile was truly her trademark. She shall forever be missed.