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Audrey Elizabeth Sears, 89, died peacefully in Grantham, New Hampshire, on December 23, 2025.Audrey was born on June 3,1936 in New York City to Edgar and Adele Wildner. From an early age, she valued education and academic achievement, a passion that led her to pursue a degree at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Being a Cornellian—and the first woman in her family to graduate from college—was one of her proudest accomplishments.It was at Cornell that Audrey met her husband, Raymond W. Sears Jr. of West Orange, New Jersey, at a fraternity party on a blind date. They married in June of 1958 and shared 67 years of marriage at the time of Audrey’s passing.After graduation, Audrey and Ray moved to Catonsville, Maryland, where they were happy to live close to family and soon began raising their own. Audrey and Ray welcomed three sons: Raymond III, Andrew, and David. In 1967, the family moved to Mendham, New Jersey, where Audrey raised her three adventurous children. During this time, she was active in organizations such as the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America and her children’s school PTA. She was an Elder serving the Hilltop Presbyterian Church where she also sang for many years in the choir. Audrey also continued her professional growth, earning an MBA and building a successful career in Human Resources at Chemical Bank.In 1995, Audrey and Ray retired to Grantham, New Hampshire, a community that would become a meaningful chapter of her life. In Grantham, Audrey volunteered at the Montshire Museum of Science and with SCORE. She spent part of each summer working to build housing for needy Maine residents. She was a long-time patron of the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover and a frequent concertgoer at Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park in Cornish. Audrey was a valued member of the Eastman community, where she served as a lake host and was an active member of many Eastman organizations. She was a very active member of the Cornell class of 1958.Audrey was many things to many people—wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and friend—and she will be deeply missed by all who knew her. She was predeceased by her parents Adele and Edgar and her brother Charles Wildner. She is lovingly remembered by her children: Raymond III (Mary Ann), Andrew, and David (Ann); grandchildren: Renee, Nicole (Sven), Hayley (Steven), Clayton, Chester (Sami), Oliver, Tucker, and Dorothy, her great-grandchildren: Luiza and Sarah, her sisters-in-law Pat Wildner and Delmah (Dave) Rowley many nieces, nephews and lifelong friends.A celebration of Audrey’s life will be held in Grantham in Spring 2026, with details to be shared at a later time.Donations in Audrey’s memory may be made to Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT.

Audrey Elizabeth Sears

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