Gertrude Mae Strom, 85, passed into Eternal Rest on April 15, 2026. To some she was known as Gert, Miss Trudy, and Trudy, which she chose to be nicknamed where we met her in rehab.

Gertrude Mae Graves was born on April 9, 1941, in Springfield, MA, which she fondly called “Mass”. She was raised in West Springfield, where she graduated from high school in 1960. She married William Butman Sr & they had 4 children-William R. Butman Jr., Ronald K. Butman (Wahlers), Mark P. Butman & Deborah J. Butman (St. Denis). They eventually divorced. She worked at Buxton making wallets and other leather goods. She later married Ralph Strom, and as “long haul” truck drivers for Werner, they tag team drove across the USA and eventually found their way out West. She fell in love with Montana, where they settled, retiring from truck driving. Her last career was driving school buses for the East Helena School District. She ended up divorcing Ralph and lived alone.

Due to an accident, Trudy ended up at Cooney Rehabilitation where a “Holy Arrangement” was made in the late summer of 2019! She was assigned to a dining table with Betty Spear. Over time they realized that they had the same birthday, although 16 years apart. One day we were all sitting around the dining room table at Cooney and Trudy asked Betty’s son (Mike) & daughter-in-law (Margaret), if we could give her transportation for medical appointments & grocery shopping? Margaret quickly said, “yes”!

We were happy to help Miss Trudy, which ended up being a full-time job, sometimes having 3-4 appointments in a day. Eventually, her medical issues needed full attention & she went into full-time nursing care at Elkhorn Nursing Home in Clancy, where she was a resident, at the time of her death.

Her favorite hobby was being a voracious solver of crossword and word puzzles, while drinking a diet Pepsi or a cup of coffee. Early on, we quickly learned about her personality. She was one of a kind and very strong willed! We tried getting her to drink water, instead of all the caffeine, but when she made up her mind, there was no changing it!

Throughout the years, Miss Trudy was taken care of by Dr. Sheri Howell & her counsellor, Cheryl Bouvier, whom we would like to give thanks for their special care & friendship, as well as Elkhorn Nursing Home, which was a place she “LOVED” & called “Home”. As her Medical POA’s & caregivers for the last 26+ years, we want to acknowledge that she became a part of our family. As we are now living in Florida, our daughter Callie has filled our shoes. In the past 2 weeks of Miss Trudy’s life, Callie visited her daily as she believed that “no one should be alone when they die”! Thank you for your Special LOVE for Miss Trudy & taking care of loose ends at Elkhorn.

Gertrude was predeceased by her two youngest children, Mark P. Butman and Deborah J. Butman (St. Denis), as well her older brother George and younger sister Shirley.

She is survived by her eldest sons, William R. Butman Jr and Ronald K. (Butman) Wahlers, grandsons Michael Lee and Ronald Kenneth Jr, as well as several nieces and nephews of MA. We would also like to include her adopted family, Mike & Margaret Foster of Salt Springs, FL and Callie Biesemeyer of Helena, MT.

A Funeral Mass will be held Friday, April 24, 2026 at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church, located at 120 W. Riggs in East, Helena, MT.