Trudy Ada Kindler

life story

On Tuesday, March 23, 2021, Trudy Ada (Clifford) Kindler peacefully took her final breaths at the age of 79 surrounded by love and family in her St. Louis Park MN home.

Trudy’s spirit is carried on by her husband of 57 years, William Arthur Kindler, her two children and their spouses whom she loved as her own, Thomas Arthur Kindler (Charlotte Ann Kindler) and Kim Marie Kindler (James John Poulter) and her six beloved grandchildren Maris, Ralph and Adelaide Kindler, and William, Ellen and Charles Poulter to whom she was known to as Buppa and Grandma. Her spirit will be carried on by them and so many others. Trudy was someone who filled a room with joy simply by extending a smile. The kindness and grace she exemplified in every moment of her life has left a tremendous impact on all the people she encountered in this world.

Trudy was born December 23, 1941 to Joseph and Merle Clifford in Northfield, Minnesota — something she was proud to tell you whenever Minnesota came up in conversation. She graduated from Moses Lake High School in Moses Lake Washington in 1960 and went on to attend Western Washington University where she graduated with a degree in education in 1964. She married the love of her life, William Arthur Kindler, that same summer on August 22 in Stanwood, Washington. The following August, only 2 weeks prior to a cross- country move to graduate school in Appleton, Wisconsin, her son Thomas Arthur Kindler was born. She spent five years in Appleton, moving back to Washington not long before the birth of her daughter Kim Marie Kindler in 1970. Trudy was a remarkable mother to Tom and Kim, filling their childhood with handmade clothes and quilts, exciting birthday parties and many bedtime stories. She extended never-ending love and kindness to her children and taught them to love learning and hard work. While living in Louisiana, she received her masters degree in Family Relations from Louisiana State University in 1983. Her love of learning was a focus of her life, and she took advantage of every possibility for learning by taking classes in every state she lived, from art to tax preparation to auto repair.

She lived in California, Connecticut and Georgia before retiring on the Olympic Peninsula in Port Angeles, Washington in 1998. While in the Olympic Peninsula, Trudy continued her life-long passion of quilting. She was a member of the quilting club in Bremerton, Washington with her sister. In her retirement Trudy enjoyed hiking in the Olympic Mountains and along the water, hosting friends and family in her home and driving across the country including her famous “Grandma Tour” with her sister Carol, visiting all of her grandkids and nephews. Trudy was a friend to all; when she had your address, you could count on receiving a letter in the mail. Trudy never missed a birthday or a graduation, and she made a point of writing to friends almost daily. Along with her letters, her journals and paintings hold precious record of her life and the landscapes she witnessed.

Trudy is preceded in death by her younger sister Carol Jeanne (Clifford) Lawson (2015) and her parents Joseph Whitson Clifford (2003) and Merle Lydia (Koester) Clifford (2010).

In lieu of flowers the family asks that you consider a donation to the Trudy Kindler Native American Studies Endowment Through the Port Angeles Education Foundation PO Box; 787 Port Angeles, WA, 98362 or Online https://www.pa-ef.org

The family also asks that you share stories in the guest book about the impact Trudy had on your life.