July 25, 1920 - March 16, 2014

Gertrude (Trudy) Nola Arbuckle was born Gertrude N. Thomas in Craw-fordsville, Indiana on July 25, 1920 to George and Alice Thomas and was one of six children. She was adopted and raised by Claude and Ina Noble and lived in Indiana until 1946. She began going by Trudy in 1938.
She married William W. Arbuckle on October 4, 1941. She followed as he served in the Army and Air Force during World War II and later when he attended Union Seminary in New York. She was a proud minister’s wife for years before settling in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1966.. Trudy began working in the testing office at the University of Tulsa in 1968 and became the Director of Testing in 1976 perform-ing in that role until her retirement in 1995.
William and Trudy had two sons, Christopher and Matthew. Their sons were truly Trudy’s greatest joy in life only surpassed by her grandsons, Zachary and Benja-min. William passed away in 1992 shortly after the birth of her grandson Benja-min. In August of 2013 she became a great-grandmother with the birth of Aden, Zachary’s son.
Following her retirement, Trudy spent many hours enjoying caring for and doting over her grandsons. (and sons!) She also made time for friends and spent count-less hours caring for others in need. Her ability to care for someone was evident up to the last few months of her life.
The loss of her sister Lida in September of 2013 was hard for Trudy as they were extremely close sisters, talking daily at the exact same time!
Trudy passed peacefully in her sleep at her home after a short illness on March 16, 2014.

I was deeply saddened to read of the death of Trudy Noble Arbuckle. We were both of the class of 1938 - few of us left. We lost touch for a few years after graduation and then renewed friendship following class reunions. She was in Oklahoma, I in New Jersey so contacts were by telephone and mail. She was clearly pictured in my mind - lovely, vivacious, kind. She aged gracefully and will be sadly missed by all who knew her.

Dorothy Cornthwaite McMahon, 1938