Trudy Rose Lynne Brassell

Trudy Rose Lynne Brassell (April 18 1957 – November 28 2018) Trudy was the daughter of Rose Margaret and George Frederick Green, originally of London, England. Trudy was born in Orsett, England, the second of her parents’ two children. Trudy spent her formative years growing up in Exmouth, Devon in the south-west of England and attended the University of Bristol in the U.K. where she read German. She was the first member of her family to attend college/University, and subsequently became a certified high school teacher, teaching French and German at British state schools. She also met her husband, Simon, at Bristol, marrying him in 1981. Trudy and her family moved to the U.S. in 1987 when Simon was offered a faculty position in Earth Sciences at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. During their years there, Trudy worked privately for Walter Hewlett, son of Bill Hewlett, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard. In 1991 a further career move brought Trudy’s family to Bloomington, IN where Simon became Professor of Geological Sciences at Indiana University. Trudy’s years in Bloomington were happy ones where she immersed herself in home and community life. Her main focus was always teaching, and for many years she volunteered for local programs such as Community Partners in Reading and Literacy Groups, which supported children during the early stages of reading. As her interest segued into elementary education, Trudy enrolled in the IU School of Education’s Transition to Teaching Master’s Program, through which she became a certified elementary school teacher in 2007. Beyond her penchant for foreign languages and literacy, Trudy’s interests were wide-ranging and her passions included reading, foreign films, theatre, music in many forms, history, travel, walking her dog Willie, and increasingly the natural world and environmental change. She especially loved animals, both domestic and wildlife, and despaired at the devastation of species caused by human development. At the same time, her natural optimism and faith in God and humanity led her to hope for a more protected environmental future. Trudy’s life took an unexpected turn in 2009 when she was diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer. The years that followed were challenging but she sought to live life fully, enjoying travelling to places such as Australia, Hawaii, Mexico, the Bahamas, and many locations in Europe. In the belief that progress against her disease could be made, Trudy voluntarily participated in four clinical trials and also gained many friends in the support groups in which she was active. For Trudy her greatest joys were always her family and friends, on both sides of the pond. She maintained friends from her earliest school days and made many others along life’s journey. Her absolute devotion was always to her wonderful husband, Simon, still of Bloomington, IN, and her three children – Nicole Elizabeth Rose Brassell, of Louisville, KY; Thomas George William Brassell of Cincinnati, OH; and Catherine Charlotte Alice Brassell of Urbana-Champaign, IL. Two years ago, Trudy was blessed when her grandson Mason was born to Thomas and his wife Anne (née Bush). Mason brought immeasurable happiness to Trudy’s life and in her final days, she also took great delight in watching her daughters try on wedding dresses following their recent engagements – Catherine to Brian Mills, and Nicole to Gary Aronov. Like her beloved Beatles, her favorite pop group since childhood, Trudy never ceased to believe that “All You Need is Love.” Funeral services will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. on December 18, 2018 at Trinity Episcopal Church, 111 S. Grant St., Bloomington, IN 47408. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations in Trudy’s memory be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance or The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust enhancing advocacy for her illness and reflecting her love of the natural world. Online condolences can be shared with family and friends at www.allencares.com.

Tributes

Trudy Rose Lynne Brassell

April 18, 1957 - November 28, 2018