Gertrude a catlin

d. April 24, 2014

Clifton Park-Gertrude A. Catlin, 92, of Schuyler Ridge, died on Wednesday April 24, 2014 at Ellis Hospital after over nine decades of vitality. Gertrude was born on August 3, 1921 in East Poestenkill, New York, the ninth of thirteen children of the late Alvin and Nettie (Carnrick) Catlin. Gertrude at a very young age determined to broaden her life experiences and move from her small town upbringing. After graduating from Troy High School in 1938, she briefly worked as a live in maid in Troy, New York. In 1942, she moved to the Finger Lakes region of Central New York with her close lifelong friends, Clyde and Ethel Hurlbutt. Over the next few years she worked wartime factory jobs before attending one year of college at Bob Jones University in Tennessee during the ’45 – 46 school year. Leaving college, she secured a job as a Laboratory Technician at the New York State Experiment Station in Geneva, New York. Her hobby as a photographer caught the attention of one of the research professors and Gertrude started work photographing entomologic and plant pathogens for the research station. In 1966, her work gained professional recognition as she won first prize in the science class at the 36th Annual Biological Photographic Association meeting. Her years of work culminated in being a guest speaker at the 1976 National Meeting of Entomologists in Houston, Texas. In 1980, she retired from the experiment station. During the next 14 years she spent six months of each year between Florida and New York before moving to Inverness, Florida in 1994. In 2009, she returned to the Capital District area of New York and eventually settled in Clifton Park, New York. Gertrude will be most fondly remembered by her family and friends for: her years of devotion to Clyde and Ethel Hurlbutt; her work in youth ministry and prayer circles in her local church; the touching – memorable family photos she snapped and preserved at numerous family get-togethers; and the warm friendships and close relations she kept throughout her life. Gertrude is predeceased by her siblings: Mildred Knudsen, Theodore Catlin, Sr, Sanford Catlin, Evelyn Flint, Laura Richter, C. Wilbur Catlin, Clifford Catlin, Elmer Catlin, Bernice (nee Catlin-Taylor) Hiller, and Dorothy Frosch. She is survived by her brother; Donald Catlin of Sacramento, CA; her sister, Lillian Gooley of Poestenkill, NY; and numerous nephews, nieces, grand nephews, and grand nieces. Funeral Tuesday, April 29, 2014, 10a.m at the Perry-Komdat Funeral Chapel, 2691 NY 43 at Glass Lake, Averill Park. Relatives and friends are invited and may also call at the funeral chapel on Monday from
4 to 7pm. Interment Brookside Cemetery, Poestenkill. Visit perrykomdat.com for directions and private guestbook.

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Gertrude a catlin

d. April 24, 2014

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