Northpinellas: Harriet Trudgen, 111, one of state's oldest

Harriet Trudgen, 111, one of state's oldest

By BETSY BOLGER-PAULET

PALM HARBOR -- One of Pinellas County's oldest residents, Harriet Trudgen, died Wednesday (Aug. 2, 2000) at Manor Care Palm Harbor nursing home at the age of 111.

"She went without a lot of suffering," said her friend and former neighbor in Dunedin, Althea Winnie. "Up until the last day, she was sitting up in her chair every day, and she always went to dinner."

Mrs. Trudgen, a native of England, was one of the oldest residents of the state, according to local nursing home officials. The Associated Press in March claimed Jacksonville resident Pearl Gartrell, who celebrated her 112th birthday April 1, "could possibly be the oldest person in the state." But the Bible in which Mrs. Gartrell's birth was recorded was destroyed in a house fire.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the world's oldest person may be 125-year-old Elizabeth Israel, who lives on the Caribbean island of Dominica. Age aside, Mrs. Trudgen was a Dunedin treasure, friends said. Although she had been living at the Palm Harbor facility since 1992, she claimed Dunedin as her home. With the help of Mrs. Winnie, the spunky Mrs. Trudgen maintained her waterfront apartment next to the Dunedin Marina until the age of 103.

Mrs. Winnie remembers the day nearly 20 years ago when she first met "Hettie," as Mrs. Trudgen was known. "I moved into the apartment next door to her. She was the first to come and offer help," Mrs. Winnie said.

But as time passed and Mrs. Trudgen aged, "it came my turn to help her," said Mrs. Winnie, who handled needs not met by the nursing home or Mrs. Trudgen's attorneys, including making her funeral arrangements.

Mrs. Trudgen's surviving relatives are a nephew, Thomas Trevithick, who lives in Ormond Beach, two nieces and a grandnephew.

Mrs. Winnie recalls that her neighbor would entertain often. "Sometimes she cooked roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, a staple in her native England," Mrs. Winnie said. "And there were all the holiday dinners she cooked for friends and neighbors."

Born in what she described as "a wealthy house" in Gloucester, England, Mrs. Trudgen proudly showed visitors photos of her family home. Her father owned a hotel and she kept the books and hosted card parties.

Her interest in games continued; she played bridge and bingo with friends at the Palm Harbor nursing center until her health started to fail during the last year.

Mrs. Trudgen was 35 when she came to the United States to join her fiance, Charles Trudgen, who immigrated a year earlier to establish himself. He found work as an engineer and bought a home in Schenectady, N.Y., where she moved in 1924. The couple had no children.

Before meeting her husband, Mrs. Trudgen worked as a nanny in England after completing the compulsory 14 grades of English school. She raised her sister's daughters.

Charles Trudgen retired early, at 60. The couple then moved to Clearwater, purchasing a home in Green Briar. He died seven years later, and shortly after, she moved to the apartment on the bay in Dunedin.

Mrs. Trudgen was a longtime member of Dunedin's Church of the Good Shepherd. She knitted baby clothes and afghans for the church bazaar until about seven years ago.

Mrs. Trudgen credited her longevity to "always keeping busy with my fingers."

"I didn't do much. I was just a busy housewife," Mrs. Trudgen said. "People should stay active. They should be treated equally as long as they work hard. They shouldn't regret things. They should practice moderation, take advantage of what they have and be happy.

"And they should have a shot of sherry every day," she said.

Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home of Clearwater is in charge of arrangements.

- Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.