Obituary of Gertrude Yu

Gertrude Yu

October 13, 1931 – October 24, 2025

CLIFTON PARK, NY – Gertrude (Trudy) Yu died peacefully at her home on Friday, October 24, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. She was 94 years old. 

Trudy was born in Shanghai, China, the daughter of Tsu Dan and Rose Lee. As a child she loved playing softball, catching fly balls as an outfielder for the citywide youth league and taking second place in a distance-throwing competition.

During the invasion of Shanghai in 1942, her family fled on foot. Trudy carried just two pieces of luggage packed with clothing. Along the way, they encountered enemy soldiers, watched bombs fall, and survived a flood.  

Eventually, they arrived in Chongqing, what Trudy always called “the central part of China,” where they lived for several years. In 1949, her family moved to Taiwan to escape the Communist takeover.

 In 1955, Trudy and her older sister Lucy came to the U.S. to attend the DePaul School of Nursing in St. Louis, MO on full scholarships. After getting their degrees in 1958, they stayed and worked at the hospital for two years.  Trudy most enjoyed working in the maternity floor – where she laid the groundwork for her future as a baby whisperer. She also liked to tell stories about the two patients whose lives she saved.  

It was on the boat ride back to Taiwan in 1960 that she met I Yu, her future husband. The two began dating once they got back to Taiwan. They married in 1961 and returned to the U.S. in 1963. They settled in Richmond, VA, before moving to Princeton, NJ, and then Albany, NY. They eventually found their forever home in Clifton Park, NY in 1973.

Trudy gave up her nursing career to raise her four children. She loved motherhood and being a homemaker. Although she didn’t know how to cook until she was married, she became a masterful chef, always willing to try new and different recipes. She whipped up an array of Chinese dishes that her family loved — from dumplings to sweet and sour pork to self-styled stir fries — and learned to bake, with a repertoire that included curry beef pies, pound cakes, and an assortment of Christmas cookies. Even her scrambled eggs were special.

Together, with her husband and her children, she became a regular at area festivals, where she sold homemade eggrolls, Chinese donuts, and chocolate chip cookies. The earnings were socked away for their children’s college education.

Trudy’s generosity and warmth enabled her to make friends wherever she went, often going on multiple lunch dates in a week. She loved taking her two oldest granddaughters to lunch and to shop. The family grew to include three more long-distance grandchildren, whom Trudy cherished just as much whenever they came to visit. At her house, they would play games of hide-and-seek and make believe.

Over time, Trudy’s world shrank and she stopped driving and going to restaurants and stores around Clifton Park. She was wonderfully fortunate to be able to age at home, under the watchful eyes of a top-notch team of aides who treated her with great kindness and gave her the best possible care.

Trudy is predeceased by her parents and her husband I Yu; her brothers Ashley Lee and Anthony Lee; and her sisters Lucy Wu and Shirley Lee. She is survived by her brother Jeffrey Lee (Jennifer) of El Cerrito, CA; and her four children, Winnie Yu (John Savastio), Margie Cossman (Todd), Randy Yu (Jennifer Beste), and Alison Yu (Colin MacAllister); her five grandchildren Samantha (Mike Cordova), Annie (Ryan Davis), Erica, Jodi, and Yuyun; and her great-granddaughter Sabrina.

In lieu of flowers, Trudy’s family asks that donations be made to The Community Hospice, https://www.communityhospice.org/donate

The family would also like to give special thanks to Yvette, Corey, Maureen, Suenita, and Shelly, for all the care they provided, especially in her final weeks.  They gave Trudy the gift of living out her life at home and have become part of the family.

Friends and relatives are invited to a celebration of her life at the Gordon Emerick Funeral Home at 1550 Rt. 9 in Clifton Park, NY on Thursday, October 30, 2025, from 4 to 7 p.m.