Gertrude Evelyn Handleman

Gertrude (Trudy) Evelyn Handleman passed into eternity on October 27, 2026. She was 104 years old. A memorial service will be held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on November 5, 2026, and burial will follow at Fairveiw Cemetery in Albuquerque.

Gertrude was born in Corwith, Iowa, on March 5, 2022, to Glenn Harold Dunlap and Mary Minerva (Riggle) Dunlap. She was the first of three daughters: Gertrude, Deloris Irene, and Joyce LaVonne. She grew up with her sisters in the Corwith Diner that was owned by her parents.

After graduation from high school, she attended Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa) where she earned her 2-year teaching certificate. She taught at multiple schools in the Corwith area, until 1951 when she returned to ISTC to complete her 4-year teaching degree. Upon graduation, she opted to teach in Tokyo, Japan at the American school. There, she met her husband, Stanley

D. Handleman. After her 2-year service was complete, and Stanley's 2-year Army service was complete, they married in Denver, Colorado and moved to New York City, where he grew up. Gertrude taught first grade in a Brooklyn elementary school, and Stanley was an English professor at Brooklyn College and Hofstra.

In 1965, Gertrude and Stanley joined the new Peace Corps program, where they were posted to Bogata, Colombia. They implemented a cutting-edge education program utilizing television to remote villages in Colombia. When their Peace Corps stint was finished, they were asked personally by President Lyndon Johnson to implement that remote education program in El Salvador. The program was moved to the US State Department, and postings for Gertrude and Stanley included El Salvador, Kabul Afghanistan, Cameroon, Liberia, and Guinea, Africa.

During her State Department career, she obtained her Masters degree in Library Science.
In 1990, Gertrude and Stanley retired to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Stanley passed away in 2010, and she stayed in Albuquerque until 2023, when she returned to her Iowa roots and lived in Bettendorf.
She is survived by nieces and nephews Jo Ellen (Dennis) Winegar, Jerry (Juliana) Nieman, Jill (Douglas) Danielsen, Jon (Grace) Nieman, Jack (Brigitt) Werts, Jena (Terry) Kelch, and Jean (Perry) Morrone, many Peace Corps veterans with whom she and Stanley served, and many close friends in Albuquerque and other locations.