Obituary of Gladys May Stenger

Gladys Collins Stenger, 89, World Traveler and Mother of 8 Gladys May Collins Stenger died peacefully at home on January 9, 2016 at age 89, surrounded by family. She was married to Jerome Joseph Stenger, Jr. for 56 years. He predeceased her on July 31, 2006. She is survived by her eight children: Catberry (Marion), Eileen, Joseph, Elisabeth, Edmund, Bernard, Wilfred, and Patricia and their spouses Robert Filoramo, Kathleen Hardie, Michael Ross, Carol White, Su-Nin Liu-Stenger, Sinimaaria Kangas and Jason Broome, as well as 20 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and her sister, Nancy Collins Rubino, of Bethesda, MD. She was predeceased by her brother, Col. Joseph E. Collins of Lewiston, ID, in 2007. Mrs. Stenger was born at Fort Benning, GA in 1926, the daughter of Gladys Easterbrook Collins and former Army Chief of Staff Gen. J. Lawton Collins, and a cousin of astronaut Michael Collins. She lived in the Philippines and traveled in China in the 1930s. She graduated from Vassar College in 1946, and then pursued graduate studies in psychology at Catholic University. After her husband joined the US Foreign Service in 1949, the family lived in Stockholm, Paris, Saigon, Tokyo, Bangkok and Helsinki (1950-78). Mr. and Mrs. Stenger then lived in Potomac, MD, for 22 years, alternating with Equinunk, Pa. (1983-2005), and in Allentown, PA (2004-06). In 2008, she moved to Washington, NJ, near her son Bernard and his family, who cared for her in recent years, along with warm support in recent months from Mrs. Cynthia Woodcox, Dr. Jean Golden-Tevald and Hunterdon Hospice Care. Her abiding Roman Catholic faith provided comfort wherever she travelled. She was a devoted member of the Altar Rosary Society and Choir at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Rileyville, PA An avid and eloquent letter-writer, Mrs. Stenger passed on to her children and grandchildren her keen appreciation of the natural world, world cultures and the fine arts. For instance, she annually took a group of grandchildren and others to attend the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 pm on Monday, January 11, 2016 and from 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at the Warren Hills Memorial Home, 234 W. Washington Ave. Washington, NJ 07882. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at noon on Tuesday, January 12, 2016 at St Joseph's Catholic Church, 200 Carlton Ave., Washington, NJ. She will be buried beside her husband at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church Cemetery, 2270 Hancock Hwy., Rileyville, PA, at Noon on Wednesday, January 13, 2016. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in her memory to Medical Mission Sisters (www.medicalmissionsisters.org) or St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in care of St. John the Evangelist Church, 414 Church St., Honesdale, PA 18431.