Gertrude "Trudy" Francis (Bores) Gibbons

Gertrude Francis Bores (Trudy) Gibbons, 93, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away unexpectedly on December 26, 2022 at her home in Boise, Idaho. Trudy had a contagious and sincere smile. She lived her life with passion and class. Everyone who knew her were blessed, whether they met in grade school, in the final home she shared with her husband or anywhere in between, which was all across the country. Trudy was born in Bellevue, Ohio on August 9, 1929, to Arthur and Loretta (Krupp) Bores, the third of four sisters, including Mary Anne, Janet, and Patricia. Trudy grew up in Tucson, Arizona, where her family had moved due to her father’s tuberculosis.

She learned early the meaning of dedicated, hard work by helping her mother run a business caring for others with the deadly disease which afflicted her father. Trudy, who early in life went by Gert and Gertie, was only 6 when she lost her father. She had a loving bond with her grandparents who immigrated from Germany, with them learning to sew, bake, sing and laugh. After her elementary education at St. Peter and Paul Catholic School, she graduated at 16 from Amphitheater High School and began working for the telephone company. She was legally too young to earn a paycheck but she was determined to help her family. While attending high school, Trudy met Johnny Sandrock and shortly after graduation in 1949 she married the handsome sailor and had two children with him, Julie and Stephen. A passionate race-car driver, John Sandrock died in October, 1951 doing what he loved.

Trudy continued to work and support her two children. After being set up on a blind date by her sister, Trudy (still known as Gert) met and dated Charles (Chuck) Gibbons. After a short courtship, they were married on July 4, 1953. Chuck’s mother said her daughter-in-law was “too pretty” to be called Gert and gave her the nickname Trudy, which suited her just fine. Trudy and Chuck had four children: Curtis, Sherry, Cindy and Kelly, who along with Julie and Stephen, were blessed to have their mother home every day when they returned from school as a stay-at-home mom. She did so with class, while also supporting her husband’s career by hosting incredible holiday parties and a weekly bridge club. Trudy volunteered often, including at her church, at the kids’ schools, as a Brownie, Cub and Girl Scout leader, and eventually took a part time job in the library. From there she became an incredible secretary and complete “Gal Friday” for the counseling office at Skyline High School, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She retired from there when Chuck took his final job in 1985 with EG&G Florida at Kennedy Space Center in Titusville Florida. She was no stranger to moving.

Due to Chuck’s employment in the aerospace industry, the family moved frequently in the 1950’s and 60’s—from Tucson, to Palmdale, CA; to Florissant, MO; Alamogordo, NM; and to Idaho Falls when Chuck was employed at the Atomic Energy Commission “Site,” now called The Idaho National Laboratory—and Trudy made forever friends wherever they went. They both retired in 1991, and, after traveling all around the US in their motorhome playing golf and seeing sites they always had on their bucket list, they built their dream house in Patagonia, Arizona, splitting time between there and the cabin in Wyoming.

Trudy carried forward all the recipes she learned from her grandmother and was an excellent cook and baker; the family had homemade dessert nearly every night. A clean house and neat yard were important to her and being very organized she made her dinner menus 30 days in advance! Trudy was an excellent, almost scientific shopper: she would pour over the grocery stores’ sales fliers for bargains, load up the kids in the family Travelall (no power steering), then go to three or four stores to get the best deals on the items she needed for the weeks’ meals. She also was a great seamstress, making many of her and her daughter’s clothes, and she loved to crochet. She made beautiful afghans, scarves and hats, many for her children and grandchildren. Most of all, she always had time for her six children, keeping them busy and feeling special by attending their various events and always organizing a birthday party for each, complete with their favorite dinner, cake and ice cream. She also planned every vacation and camping trip, helped the kids plan carnivals and “musicals” to keep busy, and helped them raise various pets. She also grew a garden, canned food, and got everyone up and dressed for church every Sunday by 8. She had a great sense of humor which, she would tell you, you needed to get by in life. She had a beautiful singing voice and had music playing in the house every day. How did she do it all? When asked, she would say: “When you are young, you have so much energy to do what you love, and all I ever wanted to do was to be a mother and be with my children and family.” Her ability to love was her super power, giving her the strength to do incredible things.

Trudy and Chuck were both excellent dancers, always enjoying their time together on any dance floor, especially to the tune of “Glow Worm.” They also loved to golf, and she became a very good golfer. She and Chuck built a cabin on the 18th Fairway at Star Valley Ranch in Wyoming where, after retirement, they spent their summers playing golf and relaxing, and their children and grandchildren could learn to play the game, as well as enjoy local outdoor adventures. But, above all else, Trudy loved her family. Her children, grandchildren, great and great-great grandchildren were everything to her, and were always welcome in her homes. It is what she lived for, and she was very generous with her time and never missed a birthday for any of them, sending a card and giving a call. She was a life-long, devout Catholic, and her faith meant a great deal to her; she is hugging us all right now!

Trudy is survived by her husband of 69 years Charles Lynn Gibbons of Boise; Julie Headrick of Tacoma, Washington; Stephen Gibbons (Nancy) of Salem, Oregon; Cindy Gibbons of Idaho Falls, Idaho; Kelly Gibbons of Nampa, Idaho; eleven grandchildren; nine great-grandchildren; three great-great grandchildren; numerous nephews, nieces and more friends than we can count.

She was predeceased by her father Arthur Bores in 1935; mother Loretta Marie Krupp Bores Doherty in 1971; her first husband John Stephen Sandrock in 1951; her sisters Mary Anne, Janet, and Patricia; her son Curtis Hugh Gibbons in 2011; her daughter Sherry Lynn Gibbons in 2016; and her granddaughter Sharayah Leigh Osburn in 1991.

Funeral mass will be held at 8:15 a.m. on Friday August 4, 2023, at Holy Rosary Catholic Church (95 S. Lee Ave.), with a Rosary to follow.

A memorial service/celebration of life will be held at a later date. Arrangements by Alsip and Persons Funeral Chapel, Nampa, Idaho.