Mrs. Gertrude (Trudy) Kriff Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Gertrude (Trudy) Kriff, longtime Malone resident, died early Sunday morning, August 4 at Meadowbrook Healthcare in Plattsburgh, New York. She was born in Rochester, New York in 1922, daughter of Paul and Bertha Yanowitz. The family moved to Malone in 1924 where her father established a dry cleaning business. Trudy graduated from Franklin Academy as valedictorian of her class in 1941 and went on to graduate magna cum laude from the New York State College for Teachers in Albany in 1945. After teaching high school English in Pine Bush, New York for a year she returned to Malone to help her father at Paul’s Dry Cleaning. Trudy married Ralph Kriff in 1947 and they settled in Malone where Ralph joined his father in the furniture and appliance business, which eventually became Kriff Furniture Store. Trudy and Ralph had three children, Larry, Leslie, and Peter. In 1969 Trudy began to volunteer at Alice Hyde Hospital, becoming Director of Volunteers in the early 2000s. In the nearly 90 years she lived in Malone, Trudy was very active in the community as a member of many social and service organizations and was an active member and past president of Temple Beth El. She was a substitute teacher in the Malone public school system and had a large circle of friends. Trudy was preceded in death by her husband Ralph in 2012 and her son Peter in 2018. She is survived by her two children, Larry and Kate Kriff of Plattsburgh, NY and Leslie Kriff of North Brunswick, NJ; daughter-in-law, Robyn Warhol of Columbus, OH and her son, Seth Warhol-Streeter; five grandchildren, Ben Kriff of Pensacola, FL, Meg and Ben Freiberg of Alexandria, VA, Rachel Denno of Washington, DC, Sara Denno of North Brunswick, NJ, and Max Kriff of Burlington, VT; and two great grandchildren, Elise and Leah Freiberg of Alexandria, VA. Funeral services were held graveside on Monday, August 5, and she was laid to rest at Morningside Cemetery in Malone. Her family would like to thank the staff of Meadowbrook (4th floor Pine Ridge) for the wonderful care she received while a resident there. Donations in Trudy's memory can be made to a charity of your choice.

Mrs. Gertrude (Trudy) Kriff

August 16, 1922 - August 4, 2019