Gertrude Virginia Pickles Van Voorhis, 86, died peacefully surrounded by family at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice in Scarborough, Maine on November 22, 2014.

Born in Beacon, New York on January 17, 1928, she was the daughter of Margaret Simmonds and Harry Pickles. She grew up in Beacon, and later married John Willis Van Voorhis of Fishkill, and settled there. She spent her winters in Fishkill and her summers in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Gertrude was predeceased by her husband, John; her three sisters, Ellen, Margaret and Jane; and her brother, Robert. She leaves behind her three children, Jane Tenedini and her husband Ken, Jack Van Voorhis and his wife Carol, and Mary Ann Van Voorhis DeSanto and her husband John; and her faithful companion, Dolly, a Springer Spaniel.

We would like to express our deepest appreciation to the compassionate doctors, nurses, aides and staff during the long road Mom took on her horrible journey through Alzheimer's. Thank you to: Kindred Monarch Center, Assisted Living, Saco, Maine; Southern Maine Health Care, Biddeford, Maine; Pine Point Nursing Care, Pine Point, Maine; and her final resting place, Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, Scarborough, Maine.

Friends and family are welcome to join us at a graveside service at the Fishkill Rural Cemetery, 801 Route 9, Fishkill at 1:30pm on Tuesday, November 25, 2014. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Gosnell Memorial Hospice, 11 Hunnewell Road, Scarborough, ME 04074. For online condolences and memorial donations, please visit Gertrude's Book of Memories at www.mchoulfuneralhome.com.