Obituary: Geraldine Savidge Sterne

Geraldine Savidge Sterne, 82, of Newport, died Monday, April 8, 2013, at Philip
Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence.

Beloved daughter, wife, mother and grandmother, she died after a long illness.

Born in Teaneck, NJ, on Jan. 2, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Michael
Savidge and Eva (Opet) Savidge.

She moved to Manhattan as a young woman and briefly worked in radio and television before embarking on a career as a public relations executive in the fashion industry. She spent most of her career at Lord & Taylor, working during a period of expansion in which she traveled around the country to open new stores, and later moved to Ann Taylor.

In New York, Geri met and married Michael Lyon Sterne, a Columbia University student who went on to become a writer and editor at The New York Times.

Geri moved to Newport in 2002 to be closer to her elder daughter. She volunteered at the Newport Art Museum, the Preservation Society of Newport
County, and St. Columba’s Chapel (of which she was a member). 

Geri is survived by her two daughters, Evelyn Sterne of Newport, a professor at the University of Rhode Island, and Christie Sterne, an architect in Cape Town, South Africa. She also leaves behind four grandchildren, Michael and Sophie Garman and Ava and Gabriel Wilburn.

Her funeral will be held Saturday, April 13, at 11 a.m. in the St. Columba Berkeley Memorial Chapel, 55 Vaucluse Avenue, Middletown. Burial will follow in the St. Columba Berkeley Churchyard.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the
St. Columba Outreach Fund 55 Vaucluse Ave, Middletown, RI 02842 or Home and Hospice Care of Rhode Island 1085 North Main Street Providence, RI 02904. 

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