Trudy Lucas

Gertrude Helen Trudy Ferguson was born Dec. 11, 1937, in Brawley, CA. and was the daughter of Arizona natives William Ambrose Ferguson and Mary Elizabeth Elmer Ferguson. Trudy moved to Arizona before she was one year old. Bill and Elizabeth had temporarily moved to California following the death of their 20-month-old-daughter, Dixie Lee. This loss was so devastating that Bill and Elizabeth felt the move would be good for them and since Elizabeth was three months pregnant with Trudy, and threatening to miscarry, the move was made. They did not like California and moved back to Miami, Arizona in 1938, where Bill began employment for the copper mines. They rented a home on Railroad Avenue in Lower Miami, lived there for a period and then bought a home in Central Heights, where they lived until they purchased a home in Little Acres when Trudy was about 8. In elementary school, she participated in the girls chorus and in the seventh grade had the lead female vocal in the operetta, Marianne. While in the eighth grade, she competed for the state spelling bee and was eliminated when there were just two students remaining, she and a classmate, Bill Crook. Trudy misspelled the word aluminum and lost to her friend Bill. (Her kids learned at an early age, the correct way to spell aluminum.) Trudy was always teased about her name which was very embarrassing to her; she was called names like Gravel Gertie, Girdle Myrtle, etc., so when the name Trudy was used by some of her friends in 8th grade, she held on to that name with all her might and she used it clear up until the time of her death. She even signed her checks Trudy. And, making hospital stays even worse was the fact that they always used the correct name, Gertrude Helen. That is until she asked them to please call her Trudy, which they were more than happy to do. Her high school years were always referred to as one of the highlights of her life. She held class offices all four years; and served as president of the Girls Athletic Assn., and the Pep Club. Her freshman year she was a member of the marching band where she played the snare drums. The remaining three years she was a member of the Pom Pon Squad. She sang all four years in the girls chorus and was a member of the schools girls sextet, which performed for various school events. She also participated in several school plays. She said her best friend in high school was Deanna Riggs Van Meter and she went to her home many times during their school lunch hour. Highlights of those high school years were the popular GAA Formals and the Junior Senior Proms. She attended both of these events all four high school years. She remembers some of the music included, Stardust, and one of her favorites, Mambo No. 5. She started dating Ward Lucas during her sophomore year, and this teenage romance lasted off and on throughout the course of a year. That relationship ended on a friendly note with both deciding to date other friends the remainder of the school years. Trudy can still remember her telephone number, 694J5 it was a party line with five people on it, including Ward. His number was 694J3. When she heard the three rings, she would pick up the phone and quietly listen in case he was talking to another girl. She later felt quite guilty about doing this (but Ward doesnt think she did!) At the end of her senior year, she began dating Ward again while he served in the U.S. Navy. This time Ward and Trudy knew their relationship was one they wanted to last forever and when he returned home for a weekend leave, their plans included becoming engaged. They planned a June wedding and had it announced in the Arizona Silver Belt. However, on an extended phone call from San Diego one evening, they decided to get married in November. Ward had learned he was being sent overseas and said that if they were married, she would receive an allotment check of $138.00 per month the entire time he was gone, a very large sum of money in those days. They believed that with this money, she could purchase a car and save up some money for their relocation when he returned from a six-month cruise aboard the USS Bremerton. GranThey were married Nov. 3, 1956, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Claypool, AZ, with Bishop Rex Kirby, a relative of the family, performing the double-ring ceremony. Carroll Brooks, Wards high school friend, was best man, and Marilyn Lunt, Trudys sister, was maid of honor. She happily walked down the aisle arm in arm with her father, who gave her in marriage. They drove to Safford for their honeymoon and stayed at the Travel Lodge there. They returned to Little Acres the next day, picked up Wards mother, Rose, and his sister and brother-in-law, Sally and Bob Becker, and drove to the Phoenix Airport to bid him a sad farewell. Trudy said that six months was so very, very long; she lived at home with her parents, and she spent a good deal of time doing fun things with the Lucas family, which helped. During the time Ward was gone; Trudy worked for the Gila County Credit Bureau and was so excited when she made her first car purchase a 1951 Chevrolet. Her father co-signed for it so that she could establish some credit and then make the payments on her own. So that allotment check was put to good use. When Ward returned, he and Trudy moved to Astoria, Oregon where he was stationed at Tongue Point Naval Base. They lived in Navy housing which was inexpensive and very clean. They met a lot of good friends there who were all newlyweds as well. It was in Astoria that Trudy became pregnant with Randy, their first child, who was born March 11, 1958, at Tongue Point Naval Hospital. After Randys birth, Trudys parents, Bill and Elizabeth traveled to Oregon to spend a week visiting them. Randy was so small, he weighed only 5 pounds, 8 ounces and was 19 inches in length. Bill said that He looked like a little tiny bird that had fallen from his nest. Ward and Grandpa Ferguson were able to do some fishing in the Columbia River and took many photos of their days catch, which was quite plentiful. Trudy and Ward bought their first washing machine while in Oregon, which was the old-fashioned ringer type that had to have two separate aluminum tubs for rinsing the clothing. There were sure no disposable diapers back then. She was amazed that there were no coolers or air conditioning in Oregon and that the grass was green year round without even watering it. She was also amazed how clothing and shoes would mildew in closets if the items touched the walls. Arizona was certainly different than this. Being away from home for the first time, Trudy was very homesick and called her mother and father quite often. They didnt have a home phone, so she would go across the street to a community center and use a pay phone. When Ward finished his military service, they took Randy and moved back to Arizona and lived in the Ferguson home in Little Acres. It was at this time their second child, Cindy, was born on Oct. 16, 1959, at Miami Inspiration Hospital. Ward was working at Inspiration Copper Company during this time. He applied for a position at the Globe Fire Department and was accepted, and since they had to live within city limits, the Lucas family, now consisting of four, moved to Globe. Lori joined the family while living in Globe on April 24, 1962. Ward certainly enjoyed working for the fire department. Randy, Cindy & Lori liked it as well. They got to sit in the front seat of the fire truck and slide down the pole at the fire station. They were certainly envied by other children their age as the fire truck would often makes stops at the Lucas home when Ward was driving it. After 9 years in the fire department, the family moved to San Manuel for better employment opportunities. While living in San Manuel, Trudy was asked to write a weekly article for the local newspaper called On The Town. The family tried to talk her into calling it Gerties Gossip but she wouldnt give in. After several years of writing small articles, she began working full time for the newspaper as a news reporter-photographer. She stayed at that position for nearly 26 years. During that time, she was a member of Arizona Newspaper Association, Arizona Press Women and the Arizona Society of Professional Journalists. One of her stories on domestic abuse was entered in state competition. She received recognition for the story and was told that if she had used some type of photo to accompany the article, she would have been a first place winner. In 2000, they sold their home in Oracle and made Mesa their new home. In June, 2000, their son, Randy, passed away at 42 years old. This was very hard on Trudy. Randy was her oldest, her only son and she was so proud of his accomplishments. He held a special place in her heart and she said many times that she looked forward to the day she could see him again. Trudy was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and willingly gave of herself in each and every calling that she held. She served as president of the Relief Society, Primary and Young Women, she was first counselor in the Stake Relief Society for two years, was a Stake Camp Director and attended girls camp on Mt. Lemmon for eight consecutive years, enjoying spending time with Cindy and Lori as they earned their camp awards. Grandma also served as ward music chairman and conducted music in sacrament meetings and Relief Society at various times. She loved music and sang solos for many weddings and funeral services while living in the San Manuel Ward, as well as singing with other sisters in the ward in duets, trios and quartettes. That love of music continued when she and Ward moved to Mesa. She was called as Ward Choir director; directed a womens chorus known as The Palmas del Sol Choraliers; and regularly performed in a quartette consisting of two men and two women. Trudy credits her enthusiastic love for music to her mother. When she was a young girl at home, her mother paid for her piano lessons with fresh eggs that came from their own chickens. Music was always playing on the radio in her home and if it wasnt, you could hear her mother singing as she performed her daily chores. One of the highlights in her life was when Ward purchased a keyboard for her when they moved to Mesa. It was a really nice one and she practiced hour upon hour perfecting her skills. She even began performing background music for various activities at the PDS Club House. With Trudy, her first love was her family: Ward, Randy, Cindy and Lori. The love for family just multiplied as Randy, Cindy and Lori each married and began having families of their own; along came 9 wonderful grandchildren who each held a very special place with Grandma. She felt life could just not get any better then along came their great-grandchildren (which is now up to 21) and there again was a joy that was beyond her comprehension. Trudy said many times to friends that her greatest accomplishment in life was not that of wealth, beauty, recognition or stature, it was in being a wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She felt these were the positions in life that she hoped she had done well and would leave a legacy of that undying love for each member in her family as well as those who would come later. A viewing will be held in Mesa on Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. and the funeral service to follow at 10:00 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Interment will be in the Thatcher Cemetery later that evening.