Gertraud "Trudi" A. (Winkler) Bessom

Gertraud (“Trudi”) A. Bessom passed away in the presence of family Sunday afternoon. She was 85.

Born in Germany on July 16, 1938, to Fritz and Elise Winkler, Trudi spent her early life in Waldkappel, a small village in Germany, before moving to America in her late teens.

She married Richard T. Bessom of Newton in 1958 and had four children whom they raised in Natick and later Southborough, Massachusetts where they lived together for over 30 years.

Trudi dedicated her early adulthood to raising her children before beginning a career in library sciences at Wellesley College and later continued a career in computer sciences at companies such as Data General, Wang Laboratories, and SEL Laboratories.

Upon retirement, she dedicated her time to becoming an expert in gardening, growing hundreds of orchids, winning awards for her plants and flower arranging as well as giving garden tours at her home in Southboro. She was an active member of the Southboro Garden Club for more than 30 years and was club president from 1994-1995. She was a devoted grandmother and great-grandmother, adventurous traveler, and lover of nature.

Trudi is survived by three of her children, Cheryl Satrom and her husband Dan, Susan Nelhuebel and her husband Norman, and Jeff Bessom, her four grandchildren, Matthew and his wife Melinda, Derek and his wife Suzanne, Nicholas and his wife Lauren and Cara and her husband Ian, as well as her great-grandchildren Liesel, Lenore, Violet, Margot, Miles, Pierce and Owen. She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard, and son, Eric Bessom.

The family has opted for a private memorial service. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent in Trudi’s name to the Southboro Garden Club.

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