Gertrude Victoria Drummond passed away on Tuesday, October 27, 2020. She was born Genevieve Victoria Chebuski to Mary (Wowak), a WWI nurse, and Ignatius Chebuski, a gardener, on Dec. 4, 1923. Due to the midwife's spelling limitations, she was officially misnamed Gertrude. Unaware of the mistake until years later, she grew up as Gene in Glen Cove, NY, with sisters Mary, Bertha, and Anna, and brother John. Gene was an outgoing tomboy and took after her father. She enjoyed being outdoors, athletics, and helping her father tend the family garden and chickens.

Gene's first job was as a live-in nanny to a wealthy family in Long Island. During WWII she worked at Grumman Aircraft, transferring blueprints for aircraft onto sheet metal. She then moved to Florida to help her older sister Mary with her children. She was a great dancer, especially fond of waltzes, a master of the jitterbug, and with sister Mary and friends would attend many social dances.

She met her first husband, WWII veteran George Darrell Frey, at a dance at the Women's Club of Boynton Beach. They were married at St. Patrick's Church in Glen Cove, New York, on August 3, 1947. The reception was a fantastic party at her parents' house in Locust Valley, with a Polish band, a dance floor built by her father, and food provided by the large extended Chebuski family.

Gene and George Darrell built a home on Frey family land in Delray Beach, FL, and raised 3 children there: Darrell Winfield, Linda Gene, and Susan Mary. George Darrell worked in the family masonry business, and Gene worked for Winn-Dixie once the children started school. She continued working after George's death in 1971. She especially enjoyed large family gatherings, attending and hosting birthday and holiday parties for the extended Frey family as well as her sisters' families.

Still not one to turn down a good dance, Gene met her second husband, Airforce veteran Walter "Jack" G. Shull III at a VFW dance. They were married in December of 1972. After enjoying numerous road trips to the Smoky Mountains, they moved to Otto, NC, in 1978. Living in the mountains, Gene was an avid hiker with the Franklin Hiking Club, and loved scenic drives. She got back to gardening and loved to watch hummingbirds on the front deck. She was active in the Resurrection Lutheran Church of Franklin, NC and volunteered with the Red Hat Ladies. She hosted many family holidays at the house in Otto, and Thanksgivings in North Carolina became cherished and legendary events for the whole family. She shared her love of the outdoors with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren as they visited through the years. Even into her 80's, she would demonstrate proper technique for wood chopping and leaf raking, although leaf pile jumping was also permitted.

Jack died in 1989, and Gene later married Arthur Lee "A.L." Drummond. Gene and A.L. loved to travel together and enjoyed perusing yard sales and flea markets. They took many scenic road trips including a cross country tour. After A.L.'s death, she continued to enjoy scenic drives to Cade's Cove, Newfound Gap, and Rocky Mountains National Park with her daughters and granddaughters.

Gene always had a contagious smile and a welcoming manner that led to easy conversation and a wealth of friends. Even in her 90's, she would never be sitting on a bench alone for long, a new acquaintance would always be made as people were inevitably drawn to her. Whether you called her mom, grandma (to 6), great-grandmother (to 3), sister, Aunt Gene, or just Gene (but never Gertrude), she was the life of the party, a lover and explorer of nature, and a strong woman who was the backbone of her family for decades.

A celebration of her life will be planned for her birthday, December 4, 2020, in Delray Beach, FL. Details will be shared when final.

In lieu of flowers, please support Gene's beloved National Parks with a donation to the National Parks Foundation in her memory. Click here to donate online.