Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

March 25, 2019

Trudy Lampley passed away on Monday, March 25, 2019, after a long, hard battle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was at home in the arms of her husband, Bert, who has been at her side nearly every moment of a journey that lasted over six years.

All who knew and loved Trudy choose not to think of her as the victim of an incurable brain disease. Rather, we think of her as a wife, mother, gifted graphic designer and loyal friend whose quiet warmth made the world a kinder place. Trudy was 67.

Trudy was born on Feb. 10, 1952, in Concord, daughter of the late Ray and Henrietta Allen. After graduating from Wingate Junior College and East Carolina University where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design, she put her skills to good use. One of her first design projects was the logo for First Place Finish, a new car protectant that was on all new cars windows in the US for over 30 years. She won several national printing industry awards for her design work for the N.C. Travel Guide. Her last project was for Dana Rader’s book, Rock Solid Golf, and the first logo for Charlotte-based Raycom Sports. 

The Lampleys belong to Myers Park United Methodist Church, and where one of several founding couples of The Genesis class. Trudy gave her graphic talent to the church in so many ways including logos and graphics for the church gift shop, Goodness Gracious!,and the Wesley Foundation. Graphic design was the perfect calling for Trudy, allowing her to express herself through art.

For all she learned at ECU and Wingate, nothing topped that first day of class. Freshman year in the Fall of 1970, she took her seat in Religion 101. Moments later, a fellow freshman took his seat beside her. Bert and Trudy were married on June 26, 1976.

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis came in early 2013. A genetic form of the disease ran in Trudy’s family, so she was fearful for what was to come. They faced it together, Bert, Trudy and their daughters, Alison and Meredith. Bert, an optician, retired in 2013 to take care of her. A golden memory of their life together came in the Spring of 2015 when they took a trip to Sedona, Ariz. and the Grand Canyon. Such serenity, peace and beauty Bert recalls. In the years that followed, Alzheimer’s took her memory, ability to walk and talk and most everything else.  Until the end, though, Trudy could still giggle at something that tickled her.

Trudy is survived by her husband of 42 years, Bert Lampley; their two daughters, who were her pride and joy – Alison Lampley of Lafayette, Ind., a classical violinist in her spare time and librarian at Purdue University, and Meredith Sieber and her husband, Michael, of Johnson City, Tenn. Meredith is a fundraiser for the Alzheimer’s Association. Trudy is also survived by four brothers – Walter Allen and his partner, Mark Moss, of Atlanta, Perry Allen and his wife, Jennifer, of Apex, Bryan Allen and his wife, Della, of Pittsboro, and Scott Allen and his wife, Karen, of Concord; first cousin Myra Waddell of Charlotte; and Bert’s siblings – Bill Lampley of Raleigh, Kay Maynard and her husband, Don, of Cary, and Carol Lawson and her husband, Byron, of Cary. Their nieces and nephews rallied around Trudy. That may be Alzheimer’s only blessing: Family, friends, neighbors – it brings us together in love and care.

A service to celebrate Trudy’s life will be at 2 p.m. Friday, April 5, at Myers Park United Methodist Church, 1501 Queens Road. Rev. Bill Roth, the Pastor of Congregational Care, will lead the service. Visitation follows at the church.

Rather than flowers, a gift in Trudy’s memory can be made to The Ivey, a day center for those suffering from dementia and related issues, 6030 Park South Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28210; or the Western Carolina chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, 4600 Park Road, Suite 250, Charlotte, N.C. 28209.

The Lampleys are grateful to all who shared their skills and love with Trudy: Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte, especially Trudy’s nurse, Emily; Dr. Charles Edwards and everyone at Memory Center Charlotte; and everyone at The Ivey. The family’s greatest blessing came from Nhora Moreno, Nilza Pappas and Alfreda Nixon, the in-home caregivers. Theirs were the hands of love.

What a life that Alzheimer’s stole.

Trudy loved books, museums, art, interior design and all those British shows on PBS. You might not think this of Trudy, but she was a crackerjack practical joker. Her victims, mostly co-workers, who are probably smiling reading this, remember her laughter at their expense. She was a regular at her book club the Carolina Bluestockings, until she could read and enjoy wine no more.

All over south Charlotte, Trudy was a friend to many, including parents whose kids went to school with the Lampley girls at Selwyn Elementary, Alexander Graham Middle and Myers Park High. Someone would run into Bert or a book club member at the grocery and ask, “How’s Trudy?” The answer now is, “She’s at peace.”

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606. Online condolences can be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.