Gerry Halpern Trilling, 79, passed away on Oct. 27, surrounded by her family.
She was born in St. Louis, Missouri on Jan. 22, 1945, the daughter of the late Siegmund and Helene Halpern.
Gerry leaves behind her loving husband of 57 years, Howard; her three children, Micah (and spouse Ortal), Abby and Sara (and spouse Matt); and her five grandchildren, Harvest, Josephine, Audrey, Helene and Stella. She was preceded in death by her sister, Karen Silverman Techner, and Abby’s daughter, Cordelia.
Gerry was very proud of the entire family and their accomplishments. She was a member of Congregation Beth Shalom since moving to Kansas City in 1986. A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Gerry was a talented career artist, showing her work nationally in galleries and maintaining studios for over 45 years. She began as a fiber artist, and over the course of her career moved into painting, sculpting, mixed media, paper making and crochet. During her career, Gerry was awarded multiple residencies.
Along with her visual art, Gerry’s other creative outlets included a passion for cooking and gardening. Gerry also spent time on the boards of the Jewish Family Services, JCRB|AJC, and Passages, an organization for LGBTQ youth.
Gerry had many other interests in life. She was an avid reader of fiction and appreciated great films. Another of her memorable activities was her time at Camp Thunderbird, teaching the campers to make paper by hand.
Gerry and her husband were worldwide travelers, spending three months in Israel for their honeymoon and living in London and Sydney, Australia, later in her life. Of all the places she visited, Iceland was her favorite destination.
In lieu of flowers, the Trilling family requests donations to Jewish Family Services Food Pantry, Congregation Beth Shalom or the charity of your choice.
Online condolences for the family may be left at louismemorialchapel.com.
