Gertrude’s Obituary Gertrude J. Santoro (or Trudy, Vicky, or Gertie to her friends and family), age 86, a resident of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, died Monday, January 14th. She was born in Chicago on June 24th, 1932 to two loving parents – Albert and Amanda Clausen. She grew up in Lincoln Park, and always cherished memories of time in the park and on the beaches of Lake Michigan with her parents and friends.
An only child, she was beloved by her family, particularly her doting aunts, and fast friends she made in grammar school and high school. She met her future husband, John Santoro, on a group picnic. When telling the story years after, she always said that she “heard bells” that first day when he snuck a kiss.
They married in 1951, settled in an apartment on Troy St. in Chicago, and had three sons – John Jr., Joseph, and James. A devoted mother, Trudy loved her sons unconditionally. She took up cooking like a pro, learning her way around a kitchen from her mother in law, Yolanda Santoro.
She could make just about anything, but particular specialties included always homemade ravioli, lasagna, pizza, apple pie, Italian crescent cookies, and meatballs – always with lots of raisins. She was a beloved part of the Santoro family, loved dearly by her mother and father in law Yolanda and John, and especially by her sisters in law Margaret DeLaurentis, Rose DiBiaso, Madeline Zito, and her brother in law Joseph Santoro and his wife Nancy. Introduced to her in-laws as “Vicky” because she disliked her real name Gertrude, she was known as “Vicky” or “Vic” by that side of the family ever since.
Later in life she was blessed by close friendships and additions to the family that brought much joy, love, and laughter to her life, including her daughters in law Paula Santoro, Inga Santoro, and Maria Cruz, granddaughter Carly Lunden and her husband Wallace Lunden, and great friends Lynda and Jim Nauseda, Kim Vail, and Jennifer Flynn. Trudy took great joy in playing games (and sometimes cheating), watching Outlander, drinking the occasional Pina Colada or glass of Rum Chata, and recounting scenes and actors from classic movies, her favorite of which was Lawrence of Arabia. Loving, full of laughter, kindness, and thoughts of others until the very end, Trudy leaves a big hole in the hearts of all who knew her.
She was preceded in death by her parents Albert and Amanda (nee Kaddies) Clausen, her husband John Santoro, her brother in law Joseph Santoro and wife Nancy, her sisters in law Rose DiBiaso and Madeline Zito, brothers in law Tony DiBiaso and Sol DeLaurentis, nephew Daniel DiBiaso, great nephew Alexander DiBiaso, and daughter in law Inga Santoro. Visitation will be held on Friday, January 18th from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Hultgren Funeral Home, 304 N. Main St., in Wheaton, IL. Family and friends will meet for the funeral service at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 19th at Hultgren Funeral Home and continuing on to a committal service at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois.
Flowers may be directed to Hultgren Funeral Home and memorial gifts may be made to the Humane Society in honor of Trudy’s great love of animals.
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