Gertrude Hughes

1936 - 2022

Middletown - Gertrude Reif Hughes, formerly of Middletown died peacefully in Waterford Jan. 4, 2022. She was born in Amsterdam, Netherlands on April 22, 1936, and was the daughter of the late Paul and Maria Reif. Fleeing the 1940 German invasion, she and her family emigrated to New York City where she received a Waldorf education at the Rudolph Steiner School.

Gertrude was also a graduate of George School in Newtown, Pa., Mount Holyoke College (BA, Phi Beta Kappa), Wesleyan University (MAA, MAT) and Yale University (PhD). For 40 years she taught in the English Department at Wesleyan University, retiring in 2006 as a Full Professor. She loved teaching and was proud of her role as one of very few women teaching at Wesleyan in the sixties and seventies. During that time, she was one of the founders of its program in Women's Studies (now Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies) and served as its Chair. While publicly proud of her accomplishments in academia, in her private life, she was most interested in and devoted to the study of Anthroposophy and the teachings of Rudolph Steiner. She continued to participate in study groups, lead seminars, lecture and publish on the topics after her retirement.

Gertrude was predeceased by her son Ken Hughes. She is survived by two sisters, Maria Sylvester (San Anselmo, Calif.) and Veronica Reif (Berkley, Calif.); two sons and daughters-in-law, Tim and Norma Hughes (New London) and Paul Hughes and Marcella Hourihane (Guilford); a daughter and son-in-law Lucy and Scott Carlson (Denver, Colo.); her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Sinclair (San Francisco, Calif.); her niece; three nephews; and 14 grandchildren.

Gertrude was also a member of the Christian Community in Hillsdale, N.Y. Consistent with the understandings of the Christian Community, her body will be allowed a quiet repose through Saturday, Jan. 8, at the Fulton-Theroux Funeral Home, New London, followed by cremation. During this repose those who wished to be physically be present with Gertrude were able to between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Due to the current level of COVID cases, the family was not planning to be present throughout the day on Friday. A memorial gathering will be held at a later date, likely on or around her birthday in April (pandemic permitting). Donations in Gertrude's memory may be made to the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org) or the Anthroposophical Society of America (www.anthroposophy.org).