Gertrude Cutler

Cutler, Gertrude, former NYC School Social Work Supervisor and Nursing Home Volunteer Ombudsman, Age 94, died on November 24, at Lehigh Valley Health Network, Muhlenberg Campus, in Bethlehem PA, after being a resident at Atria Assisted Living in Bethlehem for the past seven years. Fiercely independent, Ms. Cutler lived in New York City all her adult life; a lifestyle which she thrived and cherished for over 65 years.

Born in Woonsocket RI, Miss. Cutler, or Trudy as she was affectionately known, was the only sister of the late Mrs. Zel Levin, Esther (Cutler) Levin, of Woonsocket RI and Wellfleet, MA. Trudy was the daughter of the late Mary (Steinberg) Cutler and Morris Cutler of Woonsocket, RI, both having emigrated from Russia in the early1900s. One of Trudys proudest moments was having her parents names engraved on the Ellis Island Wall.

Trudy graduated from the University of RI where she majored in English and History. After working for several years, she returned to school to earn a Masters Degree in Social Work at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Trudy then moved to NYC, taking a job at Mount Sinai Hospital as a social worker and later worked as a social work supervisor in the NYC school department. A lifelong social worker, she was dedicated to helping underserved children and adolescents in New Yorks most challenging school districts. In 1986, she received a Letter of Commendation from the New York City Board of Education for her contribution to improving the quality of all aspects of special education services. Her efforts were noted as exceptional resulting in the services provided to the children in her charge being of the highest professional quality.

After retiring from the NYC School System, she volunteered as an Ombudsman at the Jewish Home Skilled Nursing Center on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for roughly 25 years, where she was honored for her volunteer service to the Ombudsman Program, a much deserved award and ceremony, where many grateful families and friends attended to show their appreciation.

Affectionately known as Auntie Gigi, or Gig to her family loved ones, Gig loved living in New York City with a passion, and everything it offered, from the arts to movies, music, theatre, lectures and restaurants. She was the ultimate consumer of all things cultural; movie marathons, politics, classes, opera, concerts, languages, authors, and celebrities. She had a natural curiosity about the world and other countries and cultures, having traveled to England, France, Haiti, China, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Mexico and Turkey, taking many wonderful sisters trips with her beloved sister, Esther. A music connoisseur, Gig always loved the songs of Gershwin and the sounds of Sinatra, so much that she joined a cabaret singing group when she was in her seventies, and she even performed on stage at Dont Tell Mama in restaurant row, in Manhattan.

A most devoted aunt, great aunt and great, great, aunt, Gig leaves behind her two nieces and their husbands, Jessie (Levin) Birckhead and her husband, Taylor Birckhead of Bethlehem, PA; Elise (Levin) Freedman and her husband, Mark Freedman, of Charleston, SC; her great nieces and their husbands and children, Lindsay Birckhead and her husband Robert Schweder, and their two children, Emmett, age 7 Cole, age 3 of Philadelphia, PA; and, Lauren (Birckhead) Petri and her husband, Michael Petri and their two daughters, Evangeline, age 6 and Liana, age 4, of Brooklyn, NY.

The funeral service will be held at Holt Funeral Home, 510 South Main St., Woonsocket, RI, on Friday, November 27, 2020 at Noon, EST, and will be live streamed at the following URL https://client.tribucast.com/tcid/50849042 In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in memory of Gertrude Cutler to: Bnai Israel Cemetery Fund, PO Box 250, Slatersville, RI 02876.

510 S Main St
Woonsocket, RI 02895

Holt Funeral Home

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