Geraldine "Jeri" Evelyn Trost

Geraldine Evelyn ‘Jeri’ Trost Geraldine (Butler) Trost was born October 25, 1935, in Mandan, North Dakota. She grew up in Yankton, South Dakota along with her two sisters and older brother. She attended Yankton High School for two years and completed high school at Mount Marty College, where she was awarded her Teachers’ License in 1955. She received her B.A. in Humanities from Marylhurst College in 1977 and earned her Oregon Teaching Certificate from the University of Portland in 1980. After a year teaching in Minnesota and a year teaching in Colorado, she moved to Oregon City, Oregon. She met Joseph Phillip Trost through her church, and they were married on June 18, 1962. Jeri and Joe raised their three children, Antonia ‘Toni’ (born 1963), Vincent (born 1965), and Teresa (born 1967) in the Sunset neighborhood of West Linn. The Trost household was full of wry wit and love. Vacations were most often spent camping at Trillium and Frog lakes on Mount Hood, enjoying the Oregon Coast, and rockhounding in central and eastern Oregon. Every few years, she and her family road tripped to visit Jeri’s parents and siblings in South Dakota. Her life with Joe was cut short when he died in 1984. Her son Vincent died in 2005. She taught at St. John the Apostle School in Oregon City from 1958-1963 then took time off to raise her children. She returned to teaching part-time in 1972. When her children were old enough, Jeri returned to teaching full time. She taught at St. John’s until 1981 and at Our Lady of the Lake School in Lake Oswego until 1987. After retiring, Jeri focused on volunteer work. In the 1990s, she was active with the Friends of the Oregon City Library, Friends of the Pioneer Community Center, and the Oregon City Chapter of AARP. She received a Volunteer Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging in Washington, D.C. for her contribution to reducing insurance fraud. Her volunteerism led her to Kentucky, where she lived for a year working with the Christian Appalachian Project and Kentucky Literacy Program. She set up a schoolroom for children at a domestic violence shelter. She also worked in the Clackamas County elections office for many years and utilized her teaching skills tutoring English as a Second Language at Clackamas Community College. Other pursuits included widow support groups, investment clubs, family genealogy, and time with her grandchildren. She was an avid reader, who loved mysteries and books on theology. She also loved playing Scrabble, and family learned not to plan anything with her on Scrabble days at the senior center. She enjoyed walking and would frequently walk her errands. Even as she began to show early signs of dementia, she continued to volunteer, reading to residents of Marquis Memory Care in Oregon City. When Jeri moved to Gilman Park Assisted Living, Jeri’s love of books and reading manifested itself in valiant attempts at organizing the facility’s library. She moved to the Cottages Senior Living Memory Care in Portland, Oregon in 2021. Jeri passed away October 31, 2022, in her apartment in the care of hospice with her family present. She is survived by her daughters Antonia Trost (Pete Adam) and Teresa Trost, her sister-in-law Angela Trost, her daughter-in-law Jennifer, and grandchildren Victoria, James, and Timothy. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Geraldine "Jeri" Evelyn Trost

October 25, 1935 - October 31, 2022