Mrs. Gertrude B. Treat

We celebrate the life of Gertrude B. Treat of Pittsfield, then Dalton, who passed away peacefully in Boston on January 4, 2023. Born on her family’s dairy farm in Charlestown, OH to Clarence and Louise Beal Burkey on April 17, 1919, Gert described herself as “an old farm girl at heart.” She had a lifelong love for music; her mother taught her piano at home. When in high school, she discovered a passion for orchestral percussion and learned the marimba, kettle drums, and later a church organ. During the Depression Gertie attended Kent State and then studied Business Administration which resulted in her first employment at the Goodyear Bank of Akron as a bookkeeper. Gert met her beloved husband, Charles “Dutch” Treat of Schenectady, then Pittsfield, at the wedding of her best friend, Janet, to his brother, Robert II. They corresponded by letter and then married less than a year later in 1942. She and Charles settled in Pittsfield, and raised two children, then built a house in Dalton. Gertie worked at: a bank, the credit bureau, a church, and GE Ordinance, all in Pittsfield. Thereafter, for almost 30 years she volunteered as the receptionist for the American Red Cross. Gert enjoyed cooking pies with her Grandmother Beal’s old farm recipes (still available on grammygertie.com), gardening, and the antics of her family’s cats and dogs throughout her life. During her lifetime, Gertie visited 44 states and 28 countries. She regaled friends with stories of traveling: around China for 3 weeks with an art scholar (Charles' cousin), exploring underground cave cities in Turkey, finding her paternal ancestral home in Switzerland and the maternal side in England, petting sled dog puppies in Alaska, and many other adventures. Gert enjoyed world cuisines and in her later years could often be found at her favorite Chinese restaurant, sipping a Tsingtao beer. Until her late 90s, she embroidered tablecloths for a fee and donated the proceeds to the local hospice. Gertie is survived by her daughter Karen R. Hoag and son James D. Treat, her grandchildren Michael Hoag, Craig Hoag, Amanda Treat, Emily Treat, Ethan Treat, and Lydia Treat, and 9 great grandchildren. Funeral services for Gertrude B. Treat will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to the American Red Cross.

Mrs. Gertrude B. Treat

April 17, 1919 - January 4, 2023