Funeral services for Trudy S. (Smith) Lerud will be at 11 a.m. Monday at Bonnerup Funeral Service in Albert Lea. The Rev. Vern Harris will officiate. Friends may visit with family from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Bonnerup Funeral Service in Albert Lea and one hour before services at the funeral home.  Interment will be at Hillcrest Cemetery.

Trudy was born Oct. 25, 1947, in Albert Lea to John H. Smith and Arline (Campbell) Smith.

She grew up in Albert Lea and graduated from Albert Lea High School in 1966. Trudy attended the University of Minnesota from 1966 to 1968. She entered Naeve Hospital School of Nursing in 1968 and graduated in 1971 as a registered nurse. Trudy worked at St. Olaf Hospital in Austin from 1971 to 1974. During this time, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and retired from nursing for 13 years. Throughout her hiatus from nursing, she received treatment for her MS and spent time with her children and their activities. In 1987, after her MS stabilized, she took a nursing refresher course at Methodist Hospital in Rochester, allowing her to reactivate her nursing license in Minnesota. She then returned to work part time as the night supervisor at Good Samaritan Society of Albert Lea for over 15 years, and at St. Johns Lutheran Community for a short time in 2001. She retired from nursing in January 2003 to spend more time with her ailing parents and tend to their needs.

She married Gary H. Lerud on Feb. 6, 1971. They lived in Albert Lea until moving to St. Cloud in June 2006. Trudy was a Brownies and Girl Scouts leader for several years. Together, she and Gary were Cub Scouts leaders for two years. She was an active member of Albert Lea Church of Christ, where she was a Sunday school teacher and member of Christian Workers ladies group, where she served as treasurer and was involved in various group functions. She enjoyed music, movies and sewing projects, as well as spending time with her grandsons.

Trudy passed away at Prairie Senior Cottages on Monday, July 22, 2019. She was 71.

She is survived by her husband, Gary; a son, Darrin S. (Francine) Lerud; grandson, Calvin Lerud, of Whitefish, Montana; daughter, Emily S. (Jeff VanBeek) Hardison, of Albert Lea; two grandsons, Merik and Gunnar Hardison; and sister, Jo Ann (James) Hill, of Albert Lea.

She was preceded in death by her father, John “Jack” H. Smith, in 2004; and her mother, Arline C. Smith, in 2012.