Ursula Trudeau

Ursula Wyatt Trudeau, a long-time resident of Saranac Lake, died early Thursday morning, the 5th of December at her residence at Saranac Village at Will Rogers. She was 87.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, on January 17, 1932, daughter of Colonel Henry Johnston and Beatrice (Lyman) Johnston, Ursula showed an early talent in art and went on to attend the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal. Upon graduation, she pursued a career in freelance commercial art, including fashion illustration, hand-painted billboards, costume and set design for both theatre and television, window displays and textile design. Following two years of working in Paris, she met her future husband, Francis B. Trudeau, MD, and they were married in 1960. Ursula moved to Saranac Lake and continued what was to be a long career in painting, exhibiting frequently in Montreal, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and the Virgin Islands. She also used her remarkable talents on behalf of many local organizations, including the Adirondack Antiques Show, Pendragon Theater, and the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which honored her as Grand Marshal in 2014. She was a member of the Adirondack Artists Guild and on the Board of the Trudeau Institute.

Among her many varied pursuits, Ursula loved gourmet cooking and especially skiing. She was a member of the Whiteface Mountain Ski Patrol and worked for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Deeply fond of hats, she was a ubiquitous, colorful presence in Saranac Lake, and her elegance and ebullience always made an indelible impression on everyone she met.

Ursula is survived by her niece, Caroline, her two nephews Malcom Johnston and Bruce Johnston, her sister-in-law Anne Johnston, and her stepchildren, Michelle Trudeau, Jeanie Fenn and Garry Trudeau.

Funeral arrangements are in care of the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, December 14th, at the Church of St Luke, 136 Main Street in Saranac Lake. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial gifts be made to the Trudeau Institute, 154 Algonquin Avenue, Saranac Lake, NY, 12983.