Gertrude Growney

“

She gloried in holding, rocking (hours and hours of rocking), loving on, and raising her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

Gertrude (Gartland) Growney “Trudy”, 88, was born in St. Joseph, Missouri on October 8, 1937, and died on September 23, 2026.

A Rosary will be held on Monday, October 12, 2026, at 4:00 pm at Arensberg Pruett Funeral Home, with visitation to follow from 4:30-6:00 pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be on October 13th, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Benedict Church in Atchison, Kansas, followed by a luncheon from 12:00-1:30 in the lower level of St. Joseph Church, 801 Spring Garden St, in Atchison. After the meal, interment will be at 2:30 pm at Mount Olivet Cemetery in St. Joseph, Missouri. All are invited. Memorials to St. Benedict Catholic School would be welcomed in care of the funeral home. Her service will be livestreamed and can be viewed at www.arensbergpruett.com under her obituary text.

The youngest daughter of James F. Gartland and Florence Nichols Gartland, Trudy grew up in St. Joseph and was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart. A very bright student and avid reader, she was the recipient of the Bausch and Laumb science award in high school. She worked for Bell Telephone in her early adulthood.

Trudy, or GG as her kids and grandkids called her, married John T. Growney on September 28, 1957. She moved frequently during his medical training days, holding down the Growney fort. She kept five kids under the age of seven alive while Doc served in Vietnam, and they further expanded their family when they settled permanently in Atchison in 1966.

“

Her house was open to everyone, as long as you fed yourself.

Trudy’s two favorite activities in life were reading and babies. She gloried in holding, rocking (hours and hours of rocking), loving on, and raising her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She also helped raise quite a few of other people’s children, as her house was always packed with kids. She was light on discipline, but one son notes, “She was always intentionally fair. Fair with gifts, money, time, hugs, love, and punishment (though on that last one she was a little light…)”—an important issue with kids in various states and continents.

She is survived by her husband Dr. John Growney and eight children: Mark (and Ulli) Growney of Atchison; Dan (and Rose) Growney of York, Nebraska; Sharon Growney Seals of Hot Springs, Arkansas; Jim Growney of Kansas City, Missouri; Sheila Growney Prevou of Leavenworth, Kansas; Joseph Raymond (JR) Growney of Leavenworth, Kansas; Jeff (and Cathy) Growney of Reston, Virginia; and Mike (and Laura) Growney of Spearfish, South Dakota. She is also survived by 21 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.

Trudy was preceded in death by her parents; by her siblings Barbara Chew, Virginia Simon, Rose Marie Magee, and James Gartland, all of St. Joseph, Missouri. She was also preceded in death by daughter-in-law Claudia Growney and son-in-law Larry Seals.

A servant leader, Trudy spent decades on the St. Benedict Parish Council. She hosted swim parties for altar servers as part of her work with St. Benedict Altar Society. Even though she hated, HATED cooking, she sent tons of Mandarin orange salad to church funerals. She bought something from every grand kid for every fundraiser from every school. She was also a Cub Scout leader. Additionally, every Thursday for over twenty years, she participated in “Hair and Prayer”—her verbiage for Sacred Adoration at St. Benedict Church after her weekly salon appointment.

“

Her life was one of service to others, but especially, ESPECIALLY to her family.

Trudy was the calm in the rascally, raucous Growney family. She detested cooking, was allergic to fresh air, bit her nails to the quick, and cared not one whit about fashion or makeup. But she was a smart, deeply happy, totally contented person, even in her late stages of dementia. As one son said, “She had an ability to open crossed arms for a hug, flip a frown into a smile, and soften a hard emotion”—in addition to turning a pork chop into something akin to old leather.

Trudy relied on a few methods of keeping chaos at bay. She would tell her tribe to go “upstairs, downstairs, or outside” if they were being rambunctious. She insisted her kids eat in the cafeteria at school because “...it might be the only hot meal you get today.” She told John she married him “...for better or for worse, but not for lunch,” so he better not come home mid-day. When he dared, one granddaughter reported she saw her GG stick her tongue out at him and make a rude gesture behind his back. She had a great sense of humor.

Because of her relentless positivity, her own kids (and a loyal following of others’) adored her. Her house was open to everyone, as long as you fed yourself. As one daughter-in-law praised, “Trudy was a woman who knew what mattered in her life—her family (using the broadest family definition). All extended family and their friends all knew it, because her boundless heart welcomed all and loved all.”

Trudy exemplified the fact that “some people are just human medicine. You spend an hour with them and everything feels better.” Her life was one of service to others, but especially, ESPECIALLY to her family.