Dr. Alexander and Aline Drescher

Husband and wife, Dr. Alexander N. Drescher and Aline Drescher of Lanesborough, MA, died together at home on Nov. 26, 2022, at age 92 after more than 71 years of marriage. Born and raised in New York City, Bunny and Sandy met at Little Red Schoolhouse, fell in love as teenagers and were wed in 1951. They leave three sons: Thomas S. Drescher and his wife Andrea C. Brown of Los Angeles, CA; Peter D. Drescher of El Cerrito, CA; and William M. Drescher of Albuquerque, NM.

Alexander was the son of Harold J. Drescher, Chief Counsel of the Greyhound Bus Company, and Berta Rosen Drescher, a pianist. A graduate of Allegheny College and the College of Medicine of New York University, he later interned at NYU-Bellevue Medical Center and completed his residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. In 1957-59 he was chief of pediatrics at the US Army Hospital in Fort Carson, CO, and subsequently returned to Albert Einstein as an instructor and researcher in kidney disease, infant nutrition and endocrinology. Dr. Drescher moved to Pittsfield with his family in 1962 and practiced pediatrics for many years. In the late 1970's he went back to school and trained as a psychologist at the Institute for Living in Hartford, CT. During his time in the Berkshires, he also taught regular classes at Albany Medical College and served as Chair of the Mt. Greylock Regional High School Board of Education. In his later years, he became an independent scholar in English literature, specializing in the work of James Joyce, Herman Melville and Vladimir Nabokov.

Aline was the daughter Harvey A. Mayer, publisher of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Daily Review and Aline Shakman Mayer, a painter. She was also the step-daughter of Harold Geigerman, a textiles businessman. A talented soprano, Aline initially attended Skidmore College before returning to Manhattan to study voice fulltime. Many people in the Berkshires will remember her classical music performances, her roles in local musicals, and her work as head of music at Berkshire Country Day School in the late 60's, where she specialized in the Orff Schulwerk method. In 1980, she returned to school and completed a BA in Music (Summa Cum Laude) at the University of Hartford, before earning an MSW at SUNY Albany and embarking on a second career as a social worker. She worked in the dialysis unit at Berkshire Medical Center and then in a joint private practice with her psychologist husband. A lifelong lover of fine art, Aline volunteered as a docent at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown after her retirement.

Bunny and Sandy loved the Berkshires and especially their 1820's farmhouse, built along a country road in Lanesborough and not modernized until they took possession in 1967. They spent many summers with their sons renovating and updating the building, riding their horses through the surrounding fields, and later on, driving a Haflinger-drawn cart across the county's back roads and in the Tubs Parade in Lenox. They loved walking their dogs, chatting with their neighbors, and watching the sun set over the mountains from their front porch.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial gifts be given to Doctors Without Borders, or The Alzheimer's Association. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com