Gerda Dessanti

Gerda was born in Hermsdorf, Germany and her family then moved to Eschershausen where she grew up. She had a brother, named Gunter, who predeceased her, who is survived by two daughters named Maria and Astrid, grandson Marco in Germany.

Gerdas family made her very happy and proud. She had two daughters with Louis Dessanti. Patricia Ferguson, husband Jim, and son Kevin and wife Ashley. Dianne Dessanti , husband Steven Urbanowicz and son Joseph, step daughter Sabrina and husband Carlos and three beautiful children, Marco, Eva, and Daniela.

She was a young woman immigrated from Germany at age 16 , where she worked as a young nanny in Long Island. She married Louis Dessanti and together they created a divine cuisine at the Clarksville Inn in West Nyack with Mom’s baking and Dad’s cooking.

Gerda is known for her hardworking ethics and raising her daughters as a single mother. She was very skilled such as hanging a roof on her home one shingle at a time and managing many indoor and outdoor maintenance tasks. creating an apartment in her basement to rent for extra pay, and to help another single mother. She worked at a popular clothing store named Martys in Stony Point , was a seamstress, and educated herself to become a certified nurses aide working at Summit Park Health Center.

She moved to West Haverstraw in 1987, and created a new home for her family and friends to gather. Her German cooking was well known, and her home was filled with guests for the holidays. She was fiercely in love with felines and spent her retired life capturing and spaying cats in her neighborhood.

Not only was Gerda smart and thrifty, but she was beautiful and kind to all. She opened her home to many guests in need. But, she was known to be overly honest and will always give you a straight answer even if you didn’t like it! She was a lover of music, art, photography, dancing, hiking, and was a skier until age 79! Her knowledge of world and current events were remarkable.

She became a Eucharistic minister at St. Johns Episcopal Church in the Wilderness, where she felt a strong connection to God and her brother. She served the church for many years and volunteering at Helen hayes Hospital and Food Banks.

Toward the end of her life, she was befriended by her caregivers, The Irish Ladies! Even when she was weak and could no longer converse, the ladies knew they were graced by an exceptional woman . We are grateful to ALL that touched Moms life, The world is a little dimmer without Gerda in it!

Visiting Saturday August 8, 2026 9:00am to 11:00am at Michael J. Higgins Funeral Home Stony Point, NY. Mass 11:30am St. John Church in the Wildness Stony Point,NY. Interment to follow Mt. Repose Cemetery Havestraw, NY.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Gerda's name to :

St. John's Church in the Wilderness,Harriman State Park, Stony Point, NY 10980 OR Hudson Valley Humane Society, 200 Quaker Road, Pomona, NY 10970