Gertrude H. “Trudy” Dinsmore

Gertrude H. ‘Trudy’ Dinsmore

Gertrude H. “Trudy” Dinsmore, 90, wife for 64 years to Seward R. Dinsmore, died March 2, 2019 at the Guardian Angel Assisted Living Facility in Post Falls, Idaho, from complications of old age.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 8, 2019 in the Bonners Ferry Funeral Home. Interment will be at the Grandview Cemetery in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

She was born in Rockland, Maine, on Dec. 25, 1928, the seventh of 11 children to Herbert J. Robishaw and Georgia R. Springer. She outlived older brothers George, Roland, Robert; younger brothers Albert, Ronald, and Herbert W; and older sisters Belva and Elizabeth. She was predeceased by two grandchildren, Robert Winner and Sgt. Joshua Kirk; son-in-law John Kirk; and husband of 64 years Seward R. Dinsmore.

Gertrude graduated from Rockland High School in 1947 and was married five months later on Nov. 26, 1947, to the love of her life, Seward R. Dinsmore. The first 13 years of their marriage was lived predominantly in Rockland, Maine. In 1964 they moved to Thomaston, Maine and lived on a 62-acre parcel of land on Beechwood Street.

Largely engaged in raising eight children, Trudy still found time to volunteer at the Knox County Hospital in Rockland as a Red Cross Aide. Later, she attended Westbrook Junior College studying to become a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She would later work as such at the Maine Medical Center, in Portland, Maine, and St. Joseph’s Nursing Home in Westbrook, Maine.

In 1977 she and Seward moved to Lennox, Mass., joining The Bible Speaks ministry. They returned to live in Scarborough, Maine, in 1978 and the following year moved to Gorham, Maine.

In 1984 Seward and Trudy moved to Moyie Springs, Idaho, where they proceeded to build a home near the Moyie River. Twelve months later they moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, where she continued to live until 2014, when she moved to the Guardian Angel Assisted Living Facility until her death.

Over the years Trudy would assist her husband in painting the outside of the numerous remodeling and building additions to their small home in Bonners Ferry. Their landscaping and gardening projects on the half acre where they lived took much of their time during the summers to follow. She managed to work 18 months as a LPN at the Boundary County Hospital. She also was a lifelong quilt maker, donating many of her quilts to family and local charities.

Growing up during the Depression in Maine, Trudy knew what it meant to be poor. Yet over the years she was still generous, making numerous donations of her time and money to church, family and friends. Trudy was an avid student of philosophy and religion for most of her life and she wasn’t afraid to share her faith. She was a hard worker and taught her children such, and was loyal to her husband and family.

She wasn’t afraid to try new adventures. She loved God to the end and would share her thoughts on this matter with anyone who would listen. She will be dearly missed by all who loved her.

Surviving members of her family include two younger brothers, Earl and Donald; her five sons, Seward Jr. of Nine Mile Falls, Wash., Jerry of Kittery, Maine, Paul of Manzanola, Colo., Joseph of Winnett, Mont., and Anthony of Nobleboro, Maine; and three daughters, Bernadette Kirk Bonner of Moyie Springs, Idaho, Christine Arsenault of Winthrop, Maine, and Barbara Lepoidevin of Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and at least 22 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.