Gertrude Elizabeth Stewart

Gertrude (Trudy) Elizabeth Stewart was born to Oliver Mitchell and Bertha Mitchell on April 8, 1929 in White Plains NY. Much of her childhood was spent in rural Virginia near the town of Farmville, living with relatives of her mother. Trudy was the valedictorian of her high school class before attending Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.
Trudy enjoyed her time at Virginia Union, with notable classmates including Douglas Wilder (later the first Black governor of the state of Virginia) and Marion Barry (later mayor of Washington D.C.). She graduated from Virginia Union in June of 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
In 1953 she married Richmond native Benjamin H. Thompson III. Shortly thereafter the couple moved to northern Westchester, first to Elmsford and then to Peekskill, where Trudy was happy to spend the rest of her life. The couple welcomed two children, a boy in 1954 and a girl in 1959. During this period Trudy decided to enter the workforce to
utilize her degree. Through sheer perseverance she was hired by Nationwide Insurance in White Plains, rising to the position of Commercial Underwriter, a job she loved, turning down offers from the company to go into management.
Trudy was an active member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority, and was devoted to Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church in Peekskill, especially in the choirs. She is survived by her loving family: son Benjamin H. Thompson IV and wife Jocelyn, of San Francisco, California; daughter Tracey M. Brannigan and husband Raymond, of Cortlandt Manor; grandchildren Terrell M. Brannigan of West Palm Beach, Florida; William L. Thompson, of Rexburg, Idaho; and Alex Brannigan, of Cortlandt Manor; and many friends and her Mt. Lebanon Church Family.