GERTRUDE S. BANCROFT Gertrude Bancroft, 79, Army veteran and landscaper By Emma Stickgold GLOBE CORRESPONDENT Gertrude Storey Bancroft, an Ipswich landscaper who served as a private first class in the Army, died of leukemia Saturday. She was 79. A tall woman with "lots of long black hair and red lipstick," Mrs. Bancroft, known as Trudy, was a popular debutante while growing up in Jamaica Plain, according to her daughter, Gertrude Akers of Brookline. While a student at Radcliffe College, Mrs. Bancroft left the school to join the Army after her brother's plane was shot down in World War II. Unable to partici- pate in combat, she served as a telephone operator in France, helping detect the accents of Ger- man spies. She returned to Boston after the war, bringing her mother a 150-pound Great Dane named Max who was captured from a German outfit. Mrs. Bancroft was often seen riding on her Harley- Davidson while in the Army, and her photograph was taken to be used in an Army recruitment post- er, but she refused to allow it, her daughter said. She met her husband, William Bancroft, while studying at Stan- ford University. The couple moved back to the East Coast to start a family. Mastering the Latin names of plants and trees, Mrs. Bancroft be- came known among friends as an accomplished gardener who often would design their gardens. "She never wanted to get paid; she would just do it for you," her daughter said. Mrs. Bancroft earned a certifi- cate in landscape gardening from Radcliffe College when she was 65. Five years ago, she moved to Ipswich, where she quickly be- came the president of the Ipswich Garden Club. In addition to her daughter Gertrude, she leaves a second daughter, Susan Espinoza of San Antonio; a son, William of Boston; a sister, Susan Lyman of Plymp- ton; a brother, James Storey of Boston; and six grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at noon Sept. 7 in First Parish Church in Brookline.