Gertrude Mignery

SEWANEE Gertrude "Trudy" French Mignery, 92, formerly of Sewanee, died on Monday, July 16, 2012 in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.She was born in Wayne, N.J., the daughter of the late Andrew Van Sice French and Mella Isabel Howland.She received her BA in Social Work from the University of Michigan, where she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and met her future husband, Arnold Louis Mignery. They were married on July 23, 1942 while "Arnie" was in Ann Arbor on leave from the Army Artillery. Arnie preceded her in death in 2006.Trudy and Arnold moved from Texas to Sewanee with their four daughters in 1956. Trudy was an active, caring, and creative person who gave her time to improve her community. She served as a member of the Altar Guild of Otey Parish Church, where she also established the community lending library. For many years, she had great personal interest and concern in improving and maintaining the records, grave markers, and general condition of the University Cemetery in Sewanee. Trudy had many other hobbies and interests, including her family genealogy, travel, reading, sewing clothes for her daughters and their dolls, creating lovely hand-stitched quilts, and having drinks and popcorn with her Sunday night group. She was a marvelous cook and avid tennis player. On the rare occasions that the lakes in Sewanee froze, she and Arnie loved to ice skate.When her youngest daughter started school, Trudy began her career of over two decades at the Jesse Ball DuPont Library. She worked in circulation but mainly in archives, which she loved.She is survived by her four daughters, Diana (Doug) Brown, of St. Charles, Ill., Suzanne Louise Mignery, of Jasper, Tenn., Christine (E. Ravenel) Mansfield, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., and Trudy LaFon, of Summerville, S.C., who will miss her greatly. Her grandchildren are E. Ravenel Mansfield III, Howland Mignery Mansfield, Jonathan Arnold Evans, and Colin Douglas Brown. Trudy is survived also by her dear pet and companion, Hello Kitty.In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her older brother Andrew French and her twin brother, Edward French.In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Otey Parish Building Fund, the University Cemetery, or the donor's favorite charity.A burial service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 21, at Otey Parish Church in Sewanee, Tenn., with burial in the University Cemetery next to her beloved husband.Local arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr Mount Pleasant Chapel.