Marianne Ursula (Weber) de Gersdorff, 74, of Alford passed away at home on May 31st, 2017, surrounded by her loving family.
Marianne was born in Berlin, Germany, on August 7, 1942, the daughter of Eugen and Elisabeth Weber. During World War II, her family moved from Berlin to Southwestern Germany, eventually settling in Diedesheim, where she spent much of her childhood. She went to high school at the Lisolotte Gymnasium in Mannheim, after which she completed an apprenticeship at the Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe in Baden-Baden. In 1962, she earned a degree in hotel business management from a hotel school in Bavaria.
At age 21, Marianne moved to New York City, landing at the airport with one suitcase on Halloween (or, as she liked to tell her children, she arrived in America “on her broomstick.”). She worked for Eastern Airlines before a career in public relations at The Rowland Company on Madison Avenue.
In 1967, Marianne married Carl de Gersdorff, to whom she was married for 49 years. They lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and spent weekends and summers in Alford, which eventually became their full-time home in the late 1990s.
In 1993, Marianne fulfilled her long-held dream of becoming an American citizen.
Throughout her life, she devoted herself to community activities: She volunteered at the Central Park Zoo and for many other causes, and was president of the Parent’s Association at The Fleming School in New York. In the Berkshires, she was an ESL tutor at the Literacy Network of South Berkshire, a president of The Lenox Garden Club, and a member of The Alford Garden Club and The Berkshire International Club. She also enjoyed spending time at the Stockbridge Golf Club and The Lenox Club, and the Colony Club in New York.
Marianne was adored by and loved spending time with her friends, including her knitting group (Knitters at Noon, which she founded) and the Green River Book Club. She was insatiably curious, strong, and unflappable, and a thoughtful and generous mother, sister, and wife. She was very proud of her children — and her “warped sense of humor.”
Marianne was the anchor of her family, which includes her husband Carl; brother Karl Weber, of Bangkok, Thailand; sister-in-law Gigi Wilmers, of New York; stepson Carl de Gersdorff and his wife Myra, of New Orleans; stepdaughter Wyckie Stamos and her husband John, of Derry, N.H.; stepson Stephen de Gersdorff, his wife Regina and sons Gregory and Christopher, of Little Silver, N.J.; daughter Ursula de Gersdorff and husband Anthony, of Santa Monica, Calif.; daughter Sascha de Gersdorff her husband Greg and son Boom of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and daughter Christina “Tuckie” de Gersdorff of Brooklyn.
SERVICES: A funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Church in Stockbridge on Monday, June 5th at 11 a.m., 29 Main Street, Stockbridge, Mass., conducted by The Reverend Sam Smith, Priest in Charge. Burial will follow at Stockbridge Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marianne may be made to the Literacy Network of South Berkshire (https://www.litnetsb.org/) or the U.S. Olympic Committee (https://donate.teamusa.org/page/contribute/give) through Finnerty and Stevens Funeral Home, 426 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA 01230, who is caring for the arrangements. To send remembrances to her family go to www.finnertyandstevens.com.
