Deborah Satz Scheer

1929 - 2021

Deborah Satz Scheer

Poughkeepsie - Deborah Satz Scheer, a native of Poughkeepsie, NY, and later a resident of Millbrook, NY, died on January 7, 2021 in Corte Madera, California where she had been living in an assisted living facility with her husband, Doctor Justin Scheer, since 2015. Mrs. Scheer - a beloved daughter, sister, cousin, friend, wife, mother, aunt, mother-in-law and grandmother - was 91 years old. Deborah was born in Poughkeepsie on May 27, 1929, to parents Richard H. Satz and Selma Friedman Satz. As a child, she lived first on Underhill Avenue and later moved to Kingwood Park on the outskirts of the city where she raised chickens and tended a victory vegetable garden.

Deborah attended the Spackenkill Elementary School, along with her brother David S. Satz, when it was a one-room schoolhouse. Deborah continued with her high school education at the Oakwood Friends School in Poughkeepsie (class of 1946) where she developed an interest in Quaker values. She considered her years at Oakwood to be the formative experience that sustained her throughout her life and for which she felt gratitude later as an adult. While at Oakwood, Deborah corresponded with Justin Scheer, a childhood friend who was serving as commanding officer of a minesweeper in the US Navy. At the end of WW II, Lt. JG Scheer returned to Poughkeepsie wearing his full-dress officer's uniform and Deborah was smitten. They dated while Deborah finished her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at Vassar College (class of 1950) and were married in the Vassar College Chapel in 1949. In 2019, they celebrated 70 years of marriage. Deborah and Justin were also longtime members and supporters of Vassar Temple in Poughkeepsie.

During the 1960s, Mrs. Scheer was actively involved with the Poughkeepsie Day School (PDS), first as a parent on the Board of Trustees and later as a Social Studies teacher in the middle school grades. As President of the Board, Mrs. Scheer oversaw new developments and fund raising for the construction of a new school building, designed by architects Gindele & Johnson, adjacent to the Vassar College campus on New Hackensack Road. Mrs. Scheer was a leader in rewriting the school's bylaws. Mrs. Scheer was also instrumental in recruiting two innovative school Principals, Hillis Howie and Leonard E. Opdycke, who implemented hands-on, project-based, open-school curricula and hired new faculty to carry out the school's progressive mission. In addition to teaching at PDS, Mrs. Scheer volunteered as a literacy instructor, teaching reading and writing skills to adult English language learners.

Deborah's interests included art, art history, poetry, literature, classical music and architecture. She was intellectually curious, an avid reader and collector of books, a lifelong student of the humanities. In the mid 1970s, Deborah resumed her academic studies by attending graduate school at Harvard University where she studied comparative literature and earned her Master's degree in Education (class of 1975). She considered these years to be the most stimulating of her life.

In the late 1970s, Deborah's interest in architecture took a more personal turn when she and Justin decided to build a new home in Millbrook, NY, with architect Robert Marquis of San Francisco, husband of Ellen Godfrey Marquis, Deborah's classmate from Oakwood School. He also designed Congregation Rodef Sholom in San Rafael where the Scheers attended services. In between trips across the country to visit grandchildren and travels around the world, Deborah and Justin lived in their California style Millbrook home for 40 years. When their grandchildren were old enough to appreciate it, Deborah loved to take them to art museums and philharmonic concerts. After settling in Millbrook, Deborah renewed her ties as an alumna and contributing member of the Board at Oakwood to help the school realize its mission through fundraising and development.

Deborah Satz Scheer is survived by her three sons, Peter, Stephen and William; by eight grandchildren, Caroline, Elias, Jessie, Justin, Madison, two Michaels (one in California, the other in New York), and Silas; and by daughters-in-law Anina Gerchick (married to Stephen) and Morrow Cater (married to Peter).