Kathryn Alice Trudell

MADISON-Kathryn Alice Trudell, age 63, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, at Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wis. She was born on Aug. 31, 1955, in Eau Claire, the daughter of Edmund and Doris (Sainty) Trudell. She married Lorne Hillier on July 31, 1999. Kathy graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1982 with dual degrees in soil science and horticulture and earned a master’s degree in soil science in 1988. She worked for over 30 years in the electric power industry as an environmental scientist and advocate for research that would improve the industry and protect the environment. She retired from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in 2016. She was an active member of the Madison Knitters’ Guild and served on several nonprofit boards, most recently REAP Food Group and Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation. During the four decades Kathy lived in Madison, she built a vast and steadfast community of friends. She cherished the deep connections she made through her knitting, sewing, spinning, and exercise groups. The people she met through work, hobbies, or the neighborhood often became lifelong friends. Kathy was a maker. She sewed trinket bags and quilt squares. She baked cookies and quiches, and loved trying new recipes. But her great passion was knitting. She dyed wool and spun it into yarn. She knitted sweaters, baby hats, shawls, and fingerless gloves. She knitted through every conference call and always carried a new project in her purse. She even took her spinning wheel camping. She felt a strong connection to the Driftless Area, and spent many weekends at the cabin she and Lorne built near Gays Mills. She loved to walk the trails with her dog and hunt for morel mushrooms. But mostly she loved to watch how the landscape changed with the seasons. Each spring offered a fresh opportunity to re-teach her husband to identify wildflowers. Each summer brought an abundance of ticks and mosquitoes, and even they couldn’t dampen her enthusiasm for the place. Some people see retirement as an opportunity to relax, but Kathy did even more. She gardened and raised chickens. She canned pickles, beets, and jam. She read voraciously, flagging the passages she wanted to remember and copying whole paragraphs into a separate journal. She skied, and kayaked, and biked. She took a bread baking class. She joined the YMCA and enlisted a trainer. She traveled to Nova Scotia and Iceland and Scotland (twice). Her insatiable curiosity drove her to learn as much as she could from every experience. She had so much more she wanted to do. Kathy’s zeal for life was infectious. She always strived to do better and be better, and we are all better for having known her. Kathy was preceded in death by her parents. She leaves behind her husband, Lorne Hillier; stepdaughter, Cassandra Willyard (Soren Wheeler); 3-year-old granddaughter, Stella; sister, Mary Muenkel (Brian); brother, Rick Trudell (Brenda); her nieces, nephew, and many dear relatives and friends, as well as her dog, Max. A memorial service will be held at THE GOODMAN COMMUNITY CENTER’S BRASSWORKS, 214 Waubesa St, Madison at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 28, 2019. Donations in her honor may be made to REAP Food Group (http://reapfoodgroup.org), the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin (http://www.wisconservation.org), or the South Central Library System Foundation (https://www.sclsfoundation.org). Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com. Gunderson East Funeral & Cremation Care 5203 Monona Dr. (608) 221-5420