Billie J. Hruby Obituary
Billie Jensen Hruby, 84, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, March 12, 2024, at Kaplan House of old age complicated by metastatic lung cancer. Born March 18, 1939 in Saginaw, Michigan to the late Billie Cooke Jensen and Charles Stanley Jensen, Billie (also known as "Bootsy" or "Boo") was raised in Annisquam, Massachusetts from the age of 4. The Jensen family was deeply enmeshed in Annisquam Village life; the entire family acted in the Annisquam Village Players productions every summer, and the Jensen siblings were captured in one of the iconic Folly Cove print designs.
Billie was a graduate of Gloucester High School, was Class of '57 Senior Class President, and attended Colby College in Maine, where she majored in partying. Alas there was not a degree program in partying, so after a year of fun she moved to Boston where she roomed with Janey Jensen, a friend who would become one of her dear sisters-in-law. Sent by her mother to California to find a man', Billie moved to Monterey to work as a telephone operator, and was set up on a blind date with Kenneth Lee Hruby, an Army Lieutenant attending Language School in preparation for deployment to Vietnam.
It was a whirlwind romance! Six weeks later, the two were wed, and shortly thereafter Billie's new husband was shipped off to the Vietnam War. Undaunted by the war, or apparently the rules, Ken arranged for his new bride to travel to Vietnam as a "nurse", and she arrived (by helicopter) in a war zone. Those of you who remember Billie needing hearing aids may not know she had her eardrums ruptured by a helicopter pilot who thought it would be fun to simulate a fire fight, and put the helicopter into a nosedive. We believe this romantic war zone visit was the seed of inspiration for Tim O'Brien's short story 'The Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong".
Billie embraced the life of an army wife, and in pretty short order had three kids: Melissa, Amanda, and Kenneth Christopher (K.C.). The Army kept the family moving around, as Ken was stationed at Forts Lewis, Benning, Hood, Leavenworth, Bragg, and ultimately overseas at SHAPE, Belgium, after which Ken retired and the family returned to Billie's beloved home of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Billie's philosophy about moving was "bloom where you're planted", and she made close friends everywhere the family lived.
A creative with a flair for writing, Billie tried her hand at Erma Bombeck-style slice-of-life columns, and wrote and directed the musical satire Yankee Doodle Dandy, performed at Fort Leavenworth. She later became a featured food columnist at the Gloucester Daily Times, where she interviewed and highlighted the lives and cookery of many local home chefs of Cape Ann. Entertaining, food, and nutrition were an enduring theme of interest, and in 1986 she opened the Diet Center of Gloucester, which she operated for about ten years, and where she became much more than a nutrition counselor for many who thrived under her warm attention.
In her retirement Billie turned her hand to fabric art and loved building collaged fabric into whimsical gardens and underwater scenes. Her work was featured in a show at the Sawyer Free Library. She was an avid word puzzle player, and if you are reading this, she probably kicked your butt at Words with Friends. She was equally dedicated to the crossword puzzle, and fiercely competitive at Wordle, which she tried to solve quicker than anyone who cared to share their score. She loved her nightly sauvignon blanc, was at heart a meat-and-potatoes girl, and was generally resistant to exercise and most vegetables. Her idea of a perfect meal was "heavy hors d'oeuvres", and she was famous for her clam dip and deviled eggs. Next time you have eggplant parm, meatballs, tuna salad with extra mayo, cranberry scones, or any form of chocolate, think of her. She was a dedicated Pats and Red Sox fan, and a longtime reader of Rolling Stone Magazine, which she also bought as a gift subscription for her children.
Billie was the grandmother to six grandchildren, and was the adoptive or surrogate mother or grandmother to countless more. Her house was a loving, judgment-free space, and in addition to housing all of her children as adults at various times, she took in, hosted, and loved their families, friends, college roommates, ex-spouses, and pets. Her home was the hub of their East Gloucester neighborhood, as she and Ken, in true Army fashion, welcomed newcomers and made them part of the family. People were almost magnetically attracted to her. She was not a religious person but she believed in reincarnation, and furthermore, she believed that people who love each other come back in "packs". So if you're reading this and had a loving bond with her, we'll see you next time around.
She is survived by her loving husband of 60 years, Kenneth L. Hruby; her daughter Melissa Hruby Bach Palladino, sons-in-law Gregg C. Bach and Donald S. Palladino, and grandson O'Malley Richard Hruby Bach; her daughter, Amanda Hruby Waters, son-in-law John Waters, and grandchildren, Savannah Waters with husband Nikhil Sriram, Gabe Waters with partner Grace Levia, and Dylan Waters; her son KC Hruby, daughters-in-law Sheila Joseph and Michelle Moxley Hruby; her grandchildren, Dyson Hruby and Alli Hruby, and adopted grandson Kai Moxley Hruby; her sisters-in-law, Jane Jensen and Sally Jensen; brother and sister-in-law, Dale and Dodie Hruby, and many adoring nieces and nephews.
Billie is predeceased by her two older brothers, Michael Jensen of Connecticut and Richard "Dick" Jensen of Wisconsin.
A graveside service will be held privately at the family plot in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. There will be a Celebration of Life Friday, April 5, 2024, at Annisquam Village Hall from 12:30-2:30 p.m. where any and all are welcome to share a story, memory, song, or if you're feeling ambitious, a skit. Parking is tight! Please carpool! Don't wear black unless you love it! Billie was fond of bright colors, and floral prints.
In lieu of flowers, please hug your local oncology nurse, or consider a donation to the Law Stroud Foundation at http://www.lawstroudfoundation.org, which supports initiatives that increase compassion in medicine and help people living longer remain at home.
Arrangements by Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester.
