Claire Sternecker was born on April 8, 1924 in New York City. She grew up on the east side of Manhattan with her parents and younger brother and sister. Claire described herself as a product of the Great Depression and World War II. She explained that those challenges shaped her outlook on life and her
propensity to save and collect.
Claire was truly ahead of her time as she was the quintessential independent, responsible career woman. She was very proud of her lifetime career as a US government employee in Personnel Management, with much of her time working with the military in Washington DC.Claire relocated to New York when her parents needed her assistance but she continued her work for the government. She spent the next 40 years on Garth Road, made many long lasting friends and was a parishioner of Our Lady of Fatima.
Retirement for Claire was not an ending, but a new beginning. She enrolled at and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Fordham University. Her handwritten note describes graduation as the best day of her life. Claire wasn’t finished, though, as she then went on to study at Hunter College and earned
her Master of Social Work. Her focus was on the elderly and she worked and volunteered in that capacity for many years after graduation.Claire loved to travel. She took numerous trips with friends to Europe to visitrelatives and even with college classmates to Russia. Her apartment was a ‘mini gift shop’ of posters, pamphlets and photo albums.
Claire was a loving daughter, sister, aunt and grand aunt. She never forgot birthdays, attended all holiday celebrations family occasions and always found time for meaningful conversations, many times sprinkled with career advice.
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